Winter Schooling Scheme (WSS) Jammu & Kashmir
The state Govt. of J & K has launched a great initiative to provide coaching classes to the poor students during winter vacations. This scheme was launched by the Hon’ble Education Minister of the state, Shree Naim Akhter. The scheme has been come under implementation since 1st Jan, 2017. As per latest reports from the Dept. of Education of the state, a total of 37 thousand poor students have already been benefitted from this coaching scheme by the govt. The WSS scheme in J & K is presently being implemented in Ramban district, but will start in several other districts also.
Aim of the Winter Schooling Scheme
The WSS scheme in Jammu Kashmir aims to provide free coaching to all the poor students of the state during their winter vacations which is of 2 months. Schools in J & K are on winter vacation from 1st Jan, 2017 and the govt. wants to provide coaching to the economically backward students during this vacation period so that it will benefit them in their upcoming academic year. This initiative by the J & K govt. is appreciated by both the parents as well as students of the state.
Some important features of the Winter Schooling Scheme:
- As per govt. records, a total of 37,000 school students are enrolled under this WSS initiative to provide coaching classes to poor and backward students in Jammu Kashmir. The students who are getting this scheme benefit are students of Class VIII to XII.
- Generally, all the govt. sponsored educational schemes are mostly targeted for the government schools only. But the WSS scheme is aimed for all the poor students enrolled in government, as well as private schools of Jammu Kashmir.
- There are no registration or enrollment fees for joining this WSS initiative. The coaching provided under this scheme will be totally free. All the study materials will also be provided from the school library.
- This scheme is not mandatory one. Only those parents or students who are willing to get coaching classes during this vacation period may join the WSS scheme.
- Jammu Kashmir is one of the coldest states of the country with temperatures below the freezing point throughout the winter season. So govt. has also made some arrangements to deal with this issue. The coaching classes will have room heaters fitted in the classes so that the students can study and learn without much trouble.
- All the arrangements will be administered by the schools organizing the WSS scheme and the coaching classes will be held in the classrooms only. The Govt. will allocate special funds for this scheme to the participating schools. A total of 723 teachers are assigned under this scheme in the Ramban district of J & K.
Success of the Winter Schooling Scheme
The WSS scheme is a welcome initiative from the J & K Govt. in the state during the period of constant tension across the valleys. For months, schools were shut due to unrest among several sections of society and curfew was imposed occasionally. Now, the situation has normalized and schools have declared their winter vacation, the govt. wants to provide additional coaching to the poor students. This initiative is praised by both the students as well as their parents. This scheme will continue for 2 months and will terminate when the next academic sessions will start.
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