'J-K coaching centres to function normally'

The Coaching Centres' Association of Kashmir (CCAK) on Monday said the coaching centres will continue to function as usual as they did not receive any official order from the state government for shutting them down.

Addressing a press conference here, CCAK President Ghulam Nabi War said, "The coaching centres will remain open as we have not received official communication ordering us to close such institutions. There is a confusion and there is no clarity at all."

In the wake of the continuous protest in the Valley against the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, the Jammu and Kashmir Government ordered the closure of all coaching centres for next three months.

Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Altaf Bukhari, while talking to the media, said that the state government was focusing on providing proper schooling.

He said that it was found that the coaching centres operating in the Valley were major distractions for the students and efforts were being made to put in place a regulatory mechanism for improving the academic environment in the state.

"We were looking at distractions and one of the distractions we found was coaching centres. We will pass an official order for coaching centres to shut their shops for a while. We will review this is in 90 days," Bukhari said.

Stressing on the need to separate education from politics, War underscored that if the state government ordered to close down the coaching centres, then it would be a loss to the students as education was a must for every student.