Hails J&K’s full literacy milestone
SRINAGAR, Sept 5: The Jammu and Kashmir Government will bring a resolution on the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) during the upcoming session of the Legislative Assembly, Education Minister Sakeena Itoo said on Saturday, maintaining that the government was committed to addressing teachers’ concerns over the issue.
Addressing Teachers’ Day celebrations at SKICC, Itoo said the TET matter was pending before the Supreme Court and the J&K Education Department was continuously approaching the apex court, seeking reconsideration of the decision.
She said the issue had caused mental distress among teachers and was affecting their ability to teach students with full concentration.
“Our teachers are preparing lakhs of students for exams and they are efficient enough to qualify any test,” Itoo said, adding that TET was not merely about a test but also concerned the “respect and dignity” of teachers.
She said the government would introduce and pass a resolution in the upcoming Assembly session to address the issue and ensure the integrity of teachers.
Itoo also hailed Jammu and Kashmir’s declaration as a fully literate Union Territory under the ULLAS–Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, calling it a moment of immense pride.
She said J&K had achieved over 95 per cent literacy, treated as 100 per cent under Government of India norms, becoming the biggest State/UT to achieve the milestone and securing 10th position nationally.
The minister said the achievement represented “thousands of lives transformed through the power of education”, crediting teachers, volunteers, learners, field functionaries, educational institutions and district administrations for the milestone.
She said that between 2023 and 2026, the School Education Department identified 7.58 lakh non-literates through door-to-door surveys, while 5.53 lakh learners qualified the FLNAT, including 3,16,883 in 2025-26 alone.
Itoo said the government would now focus on converting literacy gains into lifelong learning, digital literacy, vocational skills and financial awareness.
On the occasion, she inaugurated 460 civil works worth Rs 38 crore under Samagra Shiksha, 2,403 vocational labs in high and higher secondary schools and the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), Srinagar, for real-time monitoring of learning outcomes.
