Transition Challenges in Jammu and Kashmir’s Education System: Analysis of Class 11th Enrollment Trends
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The results of the class 11th annual examinations, 2024, just declared in Srinagar, bring out a visible change in the winds of educational life within the newly carved out union territory that is Jammu and Kashmir. Going by the data furnished by the J&K Board of School Education, there is a considerable fall in the transition rate of students from class 10th to class 11th in the schools affiliated with BOSE.
It was attended by 1,23,026 students from different districts in the class 11th examinations in which 88,396 students have qualified the exam. Out of the total, 43,788 boys and 44,608 girls cleared the examinations. In Class 10th annual examinations of 2023, as many as 1.48 lakh students enrolled and out of which 1.18 lakh students passed, achieving a pass percentage of 79.89%.
The trend shown by the data is a matter of concern as it shows an approximate 18 per cent fall in the enrollment of class 11th vis-à-vis last year’s class 10th enrollment figures. In class 11th regular exams, 63,762 boys and 59,266 girls appeared, which is a decline from last year’s 77,422 boys and 71,279 girls enrolled in class 10th.
Though this decline in enrollment is not indicative in itself of out-of-school dropouts, it certainly does underscore complexities and challenges that beset literally a student’s educational journey after class 10th. Importantly, the provision of allowing students who had to reappear in some subjects due to the result for class 10th in 2023 to join class 11th as regular students has added a nuance to these enrollment statistics.
The experts attribute this change in educational streams to various reasons, including the recently instituted National Education Policy 2020, laying emphasis on skill-oriented education. According to Professor Tariq Ahmad Chalkoo, a well-known academician associated with NEP-2020, this gives a better edge to students. Now it allows the students to go for technical courses available in institutions like the CBSE affiliated schools and Industrial Training Institutes which now come under the umbrella of the National Skill Development Council.
“The skill-oriented education is a positive step as it equips the students with practical skills, very necessary for furthering their careers,” reacted Professor Chalkoo. He said that it was ‘kiss goodbye’ being bidden to the traditional seats of learning as a trend of seeking online degrees and other alternative ways of education had found favor with the students.
Whereas traditional course enrollments are declining in Jammu and Kashmir, the education landscape is undergoing a sea change toward more diversified and skill-oriented learning, inspired by broader educational reforms and changing aspirations among students. While students are negotiating these choices, educators and experts are juggling their strategies to prop up divergent educational pathways and ensure access to quality education across the region.
