Jamaat affiliate’s schools told to stop academic activities

SRINAGAR : The Jammu and Kashmir school education department on Tuesday ordered cessation of academic activities in schools run by Falah-e-Aam (FAT), an affiliate of banned Jamaat-e-Islami.

The order was issued by additional secretary, school education department, on the directions of the J&K government. It directed all the students studying in these banned institutions to admit themselves to government schools for the current session.

No new admissions will be taken in these banned FAT institutions, and no further registration of these institutions will be done, the order said.

Chief education officers were asked to seal the institutions within 15 days in consultation with the district administration.

The government said FAT runs dozens of schools from primary to higher secondarylevel in Kashmir where hundreds of students are enrolled. As per government reports 11,000 students are enrolled in these schools.

In 2019, the Jamaat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir was banned for five years on grounds that it was “in close touch” with militant outfits and was expected to “escalate secessionist movement” in the state

After the ban almost all regional mainstream parties had expressed outrage on the ban and said it will have adverse impact on the schools which are run by the organisation. The Jammu and Kashmir government had later clarified that Jamaat-e-Islami’ affiliated schools, mosques and orphanages had been kept outside the purview of the ban on the organisation. .

Govt needs to understand societal sensitivities: Sajad Lone

Peoples’ Conference chairperson Sajjad Lone tweeted: “Irrespective of political differences with the Jamaat— the banning of Falah-e-Aam Trust is a regressive and discriminatory step. May I ask. Doesn’t a Kashmiri child have the right to study where he wants. Govt of the day needs to understand societal sensitivities .”( sic)

The recent order comes in the backdrop of a probe conducted by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir Police which alleged gross illegalities, outright frauds, mass-scale encroachment of government lands by FAT.

The FAT, according to the officials, is an affiliate of radical body Jamat-e-Islami (JeI) which is proscribed by Ministry of Home Affairs under the provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The officials alleged that JeI mostly draws its sustenance from the vast network of FAT schools, seminaries, orphanages, pulpits of mosques and other charities and added that such institutions played a destructive role in large-scale unrest of 2008, 2010 and 2016.

Interestingly, almost all FAT schools numbering over 300 have been found to be existing on illegally-acquired government and community land wherein land was occupied by coercion, at gunpoint as well as colluding with revenue officials who made wrong entities in revenue documents, the officials said.

J&K ADMN’S ORDER DIRECTED ALL THE STUDENTS ADMITTED TO THESE BANNED INSTITUTIONS GET ADMITTED TO GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS FOR THE CURRENT SESSION