J&K’s book scandal shows how broken its education system is

By Maria Khan

The controversy over a book found in government school libraries sounds like a one-off aberration. But it is not so. This scandal basically reflects a much deeper crisis in Jammu & Kashmir’s education system.

Imagine this: a text book is commissioned for J&K schools. And there was almost no apparent due diligence within the School Education Department and the Board of School Education, right from commissioning the book to it appearing in school libraries. How shocking!

Education Minister Sakina Itoo has promised strict action against those responsible. If the inquiry establishes negligence or deliberate misconduct, termination, blacklisting of publishers and even criminal prosecution are justified. But punishing a few individuals will not solve the real problem. The bigger rot is in the Education Department in itself.

The larger question is this: how did such a book make its way into government schools after passing through multiple layers of approval?

Every textbook or library book follows a chain of decisions involving authors, reviewers, editors, subject experts, procurement committees and education officials.

Were there no subject experts to structure the content? No editorial committee? No independent reviewer? No proofreader? No quality assurance mechanism? Or do these systems exist merely as paperwork to satisfy administrative requirements?

If questionable content escaped every checkpoint, then this is not an isolated failure. It is evidence of a system where due diligence has become alarmingly weak.

Perhaps the most neglected aspect of this debate is the selection of authors themselves.

Who writes books for our children? What qualifications do they possess? Are they trained in child psychology, modern pedagogy, curriculum design and age-appropriate communication? Have they demonstrated the ability to inspire curiosity rather than merely compile facts?

Writing for children is among the most demanding forms of writing. It requires deep subject knowledge, empathy, creativity and an understanding of how young minds learn. Yet educational writing is often treated as a routine assignment rather than a specialised profession.

The challenge is even greater in the age of artificial intelligence. Information is no longer scarce. Every child today can access facts within seconds through a smartphone or AI assistant. Schools are therefore no longer expected to simply deliver information. Their responsibility is to cultivate critical thinking, analytical ability, ethical reasoning, creativity and the capacity to distinguish facts from misinformation.

If authors themselves are not equipped for this new educational reality, how can they prepare children for the future?

This controversy should trigger a complete audit of how educational books are conceived, authored, reviewed and approved in Jammu & Kashmir. The government must establish transparent criteria for selecting authors, involve experienced educators, child development experts and independent reviewers, and subject every publication to rigorous academic and editorial scrutiny before it reaches classrooms.

The issue is bigger than one book and bigger than one inquiry. It is about whether our education system is preparing children for examinations or preparing them for life.

Our children deserve books that encourage them to question, think, analyse and innovate—not simply memorise.

The real reform will begin not when a few officials are punished, but when Jammu & Kashmir builds an education system that values competence over convenience, pedagogy over paperwork, and learning over mere information.

J&K’s education system is in a shambles today. It needs immediate attention. Is that this NC government’s priority at all?