In an important development indicating the return of peace and normal life, the Directorate of School Education, Jammu, on Wednesday declared that schools in several border towns of Jammu and Kashmir (J and K) would resume from today, May 15. The schools were closed for five to six days after heightened hostilities between India and Pakistan, especially after India carried out precision attacks in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack.
While hostilities have eased after the diplomatic and military dialogue between the two countries, students in the border districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Poonch are also finally coming back to the classrooms. The schools are being seen as an important action to restore normalcy to the region.
Schools have opened in the Jammu district in Chowki Choura, Bhalwal, Dansal, Gandhi Nagar, and Jammu zones. Vijaypur zone in Samba has also had its schools reopened. Students went back to school in the Barnoti, Lakhanpur, Sallan, and Ghagwal zones of Kathua.
The Rajouri district saw school re-openings in the Peeri, Kalakote, Thanamandi, Moghla, Kotranka, Khawas, Lower Hathal, and Darhal areas. In Poonch, Surankote and Buffliaz areas have seen students return, after a week of tension and uncertainty when all educational activities came to a standstill.
Officials at the Directorate of School Education confirmed that the decision to reopen the schools was made on the basis of ground evaluations and enhanced security situation following the recent ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. The schools in these border belts had been closed not only because of military encounters but also because parents, teachers, and local administrators had raised issues of fear and safety.
J and K Residents are now asking a very urgent question: Will this ceasefire last long enough to provide for lasting peace and unbroken schooling for children residing in these fragile border areas?
Visuals emerging from the Udhampur district on Wednesday morning painted a heartening picture, with schoolchildren in uniforms expressing excitement and relief as they returned to classrooms. Teachers and school staff greeted them warmly, many organizing special morning assemblies to offer words of reassurance.
Government and private schools in Udhampur district and schools in Bani, Basholi, Mahanpur, Bhaddu, Malhar, and Billawar sub-zones of Kathua district have also returned to normal academic routines. Local education officers say that attendance was impressive, indicating that families are trusting the security establishment in the area and also the administrative decision-making processes once again.
Parents in J and K, especially in border towns, had been concerned deeply about the disruption in education, particularly for students who were preparing for important board exams. The reopening of schools, they claim, brings a welcome sense of stability.
Following the brief closure of schools after a deadly terror strike in Pahalgam resulted in 26 deaths, India responded by targeting terror facilities across Pakistan and PoJK (Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir) in aerial attacks. In the aftermath, more than 100 terrorists were eliminated by these strikes under Operation Sindoor, said sources.
Indian Armed Forces were also busy deflecting retaliatory military attacks by Pakistan, whose multiple airbases were said to have been targeted. Diplomatic backdoor negotiations, however, saw the Pakistan Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) extend an appeal to his Indian counterpart, the two agreeing to a mutual understanding to stop further firing and combat operations.
This innovation in military communication has had a ripple impact throughout J and K, more specifically in alleviating civilian fears in the conflict zones. The ceasefire not only resulted in schools opening again but has also allowed for the resumption of routine activities like transportation, medical services, and local commerce.
For students and teachers alike, reopening is a new beginning in the struggle to secure educational continuity through geopolitical uncertainty. “We missed nearly a week of classes but are committed to catching up on the lost learning,” declared Ghagwal region teacher from Kathua. “Our children must have a fearless environment.”
J and K’s border belts have long been susceptible to being disturbed by cross-border shelling and security disruptions. The recent incident, however, was especially severe, with numerous residents being compelled to leave their homes temporarily. Some schools had even been utilized as relief shelters, further putting education operations on the backburner.
Since schools are now reopening, education authorities are ordering schools to provide special classes for students to recover lost curriculum. Psychological counseling and emotional support classes are also being organized for children traumatized by the recent violence and displacement.
The Directorate of School Education, in concert with local police and district administrations, has pledged to keep a tight eye on the security situation. Contingency plans are also ready in case the situation takes a turn for the worse again, though officials are optimistic that the ceasefire will hold.
As peace slowly comes back, leaders in the community and parent organizations are asking both countries to put the lives and futures of kids who live along the LoC first. “The kids of J and K must not pay for political and military battles,” a parent in Rajouri said. “Their education must be protected at all costs.
The opening of educational work in J and K is greeted as a bold expression of tenacity in adversity. Though the threat of a return to arms cannot be utterly discounted, schools’ reopening on Monday represents an essential move towards reconciliation and stabilization in a terrain too long subject to war.
For the time being, J and K students are sitting in classrooms, books open, resolved to look beyond recent strife’s smoke toward a brighter, more educated future.
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