Summary of this article
Only 5 of 27 sanctioned higher secondary lecturer posts are filled, with several districts reporting no appointed teachers at all.
Even with postgraduates and PhD holders in Kashmiri available, schools rely on teachers who lack training in the language.
Activists allege discrimination, pointing to the limited use of Kashmiri in official documents, government websites, and public signage
Shahbaz Ahmad, 33, who completed his doctorate in Kashmiri language from the University of Kashmir last year, says he sees little prospect of employment. A resident of South Kashmir’s Pulwama, Shahbaz says he chose the subject out of love for his mother tongue but now regrets the decision.
“It is a very dismal situation. People who have no formal training or experience are teaching Kashmiri in schools. The teaching posts in the language are rarely advertised by the government,” he says.
Activists and scholars say that despite being accorded official language status, Kashmiri is not taught in all schools, reflecting what they describe as a discriminatory attitude.
According to official records, only 27 Kashmiri language lecturers are sanctioned at the higher secondary level in Jammu and Kashmir, of which only five positions have been filled.
In the districts of Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Pulwama, and Shopian, all sanctioned posts are vacant.
The shortage persists despite a 2017 order by the Education Department that sanctioned the extension of regional languages — Kashmiri, Dogri, and Bodhi to Classes 9 and 10 as a compulsory sixth subject.
The 2017 order specified that the teaching of these regional languages would begin in the 2018–19 academic session for class 9 and in the 2019–20 session for class 10.
Zubair Ahmad Kambay, President of the Kashmiri Language Union, says the language continues to face neglect. “There are only a handful of higher secondary schools where the subject is taught, while at the elementary level, Kashmiri is handled by teachers who hold postgraduate degrees in other disciplines,” he says.
Echoing similar concerns, Bilal Ahmad Lone, 37, who completed his post-graduation in Kashmiri language in 2018, says the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have failed to promote the language as effectively as other states do.
“If Kashmiri is truly an official language, government documents should be issued in it, which is largely not happening. Even teaching jobs in Kashmir are not being advertised regularly,” he says.
Bilal says he was forced to take up a job at a private school at a meager salary as the posts in the subject were not advertised by the government.
Kambay says that the way government websites display information in Hindi and other languages, the same should be done in Kashmiri. “We have raised these issues at multiple forums, but nothing has changed,” he says.
Referring to urban signboards, he adds, “Look at Smart City boards—they are mostly in Hindi. Why is Kashmiri missing from these public spaces?”
Several Kashmiri scholars say that at the school level, the language is often taught by teachers who lack adequate proficiency, while in many colleges across Kashmir, it is not taught at all.
Officials have acknowledged the shortage of trained Kashmiri language teachers, saying, however, that measures have been taken to ensure that the education in the subject doesn’t suffer.
Joint Director, Education (Kashmir), Mohd Mushtaq says that at the elementary level, Kashmiri language is being taught by teachers who have previously studied the subject, and government is undertaking periodic recruitment drives to fill vacant positions.
Chief Education Officer, Kupwara, Manzoor Ahmad Najar, acknowledges the shortage of teachers. He says, “Whenever students express interest in Kashmiri, the department undertakes internal arrangements to offer education to the children. We are aware of the gaps, but if students show interest in Kashmiri, we make internal adjustments,” he says.