The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) on Wednesday said it will start distributing free textbooks for classes KG to 8th by mid-November.

While speaking to the news agency KNO, JKBOSE Chairman, Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, said, “We will start distributing free textbooks among students by mid-November.”

He said that the Board has not received a consignment of revised textbooks for classes 3rd and 6th.

“The textbooks of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th classes have been revised as per the NEP-2020. As of now, we have received revised textbooks of only classes 1st and 2nd and the consignment of free textbooks of classes 3rd and 6th is supposed to arrive by November 12,” he said.

JKBOSE Chairman further said that the free textbooks of other classes are available with the Board. “Therefore, we have decided to distribute the free textbooks when all the titles are available with us.”

“The 80 percent of the syllabi of the revised textbooks have been framed by the NCERT and 20 percent by JKBOSE. The revision has been mostly done in science and social science subjects,” he said.

Pertinently, educational institutions across Kashmir Valley begin the academic session 2026–27 from November 2 for KG to Class 10th students.

An official informed that the new academic session commenced after the schools completed annual assessments and declared results in line with the academic calendar.

Earlier, JKBOSE had said that the free textbooks among students would be distributed to various educational zones in the first week of November.

Former Education Minister, Sakeena Itoo, in this regard had directed the officials to ensure timely completion of preparation of textbooks, syllabus and other needs.

It is pertinent to mention that the concluded academic year witnessed a few disruptions, forcing the government to close schools across the Valley.

The closure was ordered amid protests and security restrictions following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with schools and colleges shut until March 7, 2026, during that episode.

Besides, low-intensity floods in parts of the Valley also affected normal classwork and other academic activities, forcing the government to order temporary closure of educational institutions in Kashmir.

After brief disruptions, academic activities were restored in all the educational institutions in the Valley.

SRINAGAR — Former Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T. Achary on Wednesday said the Speaker is required to satisfy himself that a Member of Parliament's resignation is voluntary before accepting it.

While speaking to the news agency KNO, Achary said that if an MP personally hands over his resignation letter to the Speaker, the latter can accept it without conducting any inquiry.

“If a Member of Parliament goes to the Speaker and submits his resignation in person, the Speaker can accept it and does not need to conduct any inquiry,” Achary said.

However, he said that when a resignation is received through post or any other indirect means, the Speaker must satisfy himself that it was not submitted under pressure or coercion.

“If the Speaker finds that the resignation has been made under pressure, he cannot accept it,” Achary said.

Replying to a question on the timeline for holding a by-election in the event of a vacancy in the Lok Sabha, the former Lok Sabha Secretary General said a by-election must be conducted within six months from the date the seat falls vacant, as mandated under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

“The by-poll has to be held within six months of the vacancy occurring,” he said.

Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a by-election to fill a vacancy in Parliament or a State Legislature must ordinarily be held within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy.

However, the provision does not apply if the remaining term of the House is less than one year. The term of the current 18th Lok Sabha is scheduled to continue until June 2029, unless dissolved earlier.

The Act also exempts vacancies from the six-month time limit if the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, certifies that it is difficult to hold the by-election within the stipulated period.

If the resignation is accepted with effect from November 3, 2026, the by-election would ordinarily have to be held by May 2, 2027.

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday set a six-month deadline to roll out the ‘Design Your Degree’ (DYD) program in universities of the Union Territory (UT).

The Lieutenant Governor, according to the news agency KNO, passed the directions in a high-level meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Education Council (JKHEC) at Lok Bhavan.

The JKHEC met under the leadership of LG Sinha to chart a forward-looking roadmap for higher education.

During the meeting, discussions focused on advancing academic excellence, fostering a culture of research and innovation, and strategically aligning institutions to meet future challenges and leverage emerging opportunities.

The key agenda of the meeting included sharing academic credits and resources and recasting UG and PG programs in light of Design Your Degree and National Education Policy 2020.

The meeting also discussed modalities to set up a Task Force to integrate AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Data Science into UG and PG programs.

To drive academic reform, the LG set a six-month deadline for universities in Jammu and Kashmir to roll out the ‘Design Your Degree’ program.

Emphasising a spirit of collaboration, LG Sinha urged institutions to share academic credits, research laboratories, and resources. “Transforming higher education in Jammu Kashmir into a comprehensive, holistic, and visionary system is a shared responsibility.”

LG Sinha said that the time has now come to translate Higher Education Council initiatives into tangible achievements, while ensuring that every student benefits from outcome-oriented asset utilisation.

Stressing the need for stronger intra-university collaboration, the Lieutenant Governor noted that successful implementation relies on deep-rooted institutional reform and a solid long-term strategy.

The Lieutenant Governor emphasised the integration of artificial intelligence and modern technology into learning programs, stressing the need to pioneer frontier technologies.

He also highlighted that these programs must incorporate local languages and cultures. Prof. Dinesh Singh, Vice Chairman, JKHEC, called for policy directives to align undergraduate and postgraduate curricula with the ‘Design Your Degree’ framework.

Vice-Chancellors and members of the Council shared their inputs for advancing the DYD program and NEP 2020 interventions.

The Council also reviewed the progress of ongoing Higher Education initiatives, Engineering Kitchens and Entrepreneurship programmes, and Budgetary outlay and Reform of the Fund Allocation Mechanism.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Minister for School and Higher Education Department Shamim Firdous, Vice Chairman of J&K Higher Education Council, Prof. Dinesh Singh, Acting Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, Govind Jaiswal, Commissioner Secretary Higher Education Department Ram Niwas Sharma, Vice Chancellors of J&K universities and Director IIT, IIM Jammu, Director NIT Srinagar and other members.