6 CEO, 7 DIET principal posts lying vacant in J&K State of India since months

In the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir, six crucial posts of chief education officers (CEOs) Education departments, and five of principals for District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) are lying vacant for several months. There are reports of crumbling administration due to the same. (Read news report here) In a few months two more such positions are expected to be vacated. The state as we know is conflict and strife ridden, for any strategy to return the valley to normalcy, Education in the state has to be figuring among the top priorities of any government. It is also important to have a robust educational framework and strategy to ensure that the state delivers a high quality of education and the resulting opportunities are capitalised on to provide people a good chance of moving on to a good life. Often these structures are created or replicated across states and left to centralised planning and complying with centrally issued guidelines. It is time that education structures, strategies, resources are contextualised and made responsive to needs of their constituencies. While the government education system across the country is suffering, we have to have governments articulate and deploy strategies that provide hope and drive for improvement.