According to local media, the State Investigative Agency (SIA) discovered these schools were implicated in the civilian uprising in Kashmir in 2010 and 2016.

Huzaif Ahmad, a 14-year-old Class 9th student in Jammu & Kashmir’s Budgam district who aspires to be an engineer, is now facing an unclear future.

He is one of 600 pupils and instructors at a secondary school in Budgam who are concerned that their school will be closed due to its previous association with a trust affiliated to a banned party that has been targeted by the Jammu and Kashmir administration in a current operation.
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The school, like many others, was delinked from the Falah-e-Aam Trust, re-registered, and taken over by local community management in 2017. However, according to sources, the secondary school is one of 20 in the Budgam area that may be closed.

Thousands of pupils in Jammu and Kashmir, like Huzaif, are unsure what will happen if the union territory administration’s intention to close down approximately 300 private schools reportedly linked to a trust affiliated with the banned Jama’at e Islami organisation is carried out.

The administration has directed school administrators to close the schools within the next 15 days. The decision was made after the State Investigation Agency (SIA) allegedly discovered these schools were related to the Jama’at-backed foundation.

Huzaif’s school houses 400 kids, the majority of whom come from low-income families from around Jammu and Kashmir. Those who can afford it pay a monthly price of 2,500 for tuition and boarding, according to a management official.

In addition to operating a religious seminary (madrasa), the school follows the Jammu and Kashmir education board’s syllabus as well as the European Cambridge curriculum.

“We are following the curriculum developed and approved by the state board of education. We teach the Cambridge series up to class fifth, which is highly modern and connected to the modern era “Saleem Sidique, a teacher, agreed.

According to the ruling, all schools affiliated with the Jama’at-related trust have had their recognition revoked. The government labelled the Jama’at-e-Islami, a political-religious party, a prohibited organisation in 2019.

All district superintendents have been directed to close these institutions within 15 days and transfer pupils to government-run schools.

According to local media sources, the SIA discovered these schools were involved in the civilian unrest in Kashmir in 2010 and 2016, as well as teaching Jihadi literature.

According to the Falah Aam Trust, only seven schools are directly associated with them, and it denies any involvement in subversive or separatist activity.

“We have no idea why we were prohibited. We solely follow a government-approved curriculum and obey government orders “Showkat Ahmad Var, Director of Falah Aam Trust, stated

He stated that, with the exception of seven institutions, the trust has no administrative or academic influence over any other school.

Sajad Lone, head of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference, has called the move racist and claimed that the government is deliberately targeting Kashmiris.

“Selectively targeting institutions with religious affiliations is both unfair and unjust. The administration must recognise that J&K is a Muslim-majority state. They cannot ban every institution because they are biassed against Muslims “Mr Lone stated.