The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday took over the management of 215 schools affiliated to the banned Jamaat-e-Islami amid criticism from Opposition parties, The Hindu reported.

Special teams comprising revenue officials, police personnel and principals from government schools took over the functioning of several schools in 10 districts of the Kashmir valley, unidentified officials said.

The takeover of the schools run by the Falah-e-Aam Trust, an educational body linked to the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir, had been announced by the government in the Union Territory on Friday. The Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir was banned in 2019 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly fueling secessionism in the Union Territory.

The validity of the managing committee of the 215 schools had expired, an order said, adding that the institutions had also “been reported adversely upon by the intelligence agencies”, The Hindu reported.

“In order to safeguard the academic future of the students enrolled in these schools, it is hereby ordered that the managing committee of the 215 schools shall be taken over by the district magistrate or deputy commissioner concerned,” the newspaper quoted an order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir School Education Department as saying.

The district magistrates or deputy commissioners would propose a fresh managing committee, the order added.

Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Sakina Ittoo, however, said that principals from government schools and not deputy commissioners would look after these schools, The Hindu reported.

Ittoo also described the takeover as “temporary” amid criticism by Opposition parties.

“The staff in these schools will remain the same,” she said, according to The Hindu. “New management committees will be framed after the CID verifications. The process will be reviewed after three months.”

‘Assault on J&K’s identity’

Commenting on the takeover of the schools, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti said that Kashmiris voted the National Conference to power last year to safeguard their interests, The Times of India reported. She alleged that the National Conference instead targeted schools that provided quality education in the Union Territory.

Mufti said that the action was an “assault on the identity” of Jammu and Kashmir.

J&K Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari said that the government taking over the management of the schools was neither necessary nor justified.

“Rather than assuming direct control, the government could have exercised its authority by establishing clear regulations to safeguard the academic future of students enrolled in these institutions,” Bukhari said, according to The Hindu.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, welcomed the move. Party spokesperson Altaf Thakur said that it was a “much-needed intervention to ensure that young minds are shielded from separatist narratives”, The Times of India reported.

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