The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday ordered the cessation of academic activities in schools run by Falah-e-Aam (FAT). The schools will be sealed within 15 days, the government said in the order. Around 11,000 students studying in FTA schools have been asked to enroll in nearby government-run schools.
The order further stated that FAT has roots with 'radical body' Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), which is proscribed by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The Jamaat-e-Islami is a socio-religious political organisation banned by the Indian government in 2019.
The ban on FAT schools comes in the backdrop of allegations of gross illegalities, outright frauds, and mass-scale encroachment of government land. The case is being probed by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of J&K Police.
BOOM spoke to some former students of FAT-run schools and parents of current students to understand what it means for them.
What do parents and alumni say about the decision?
A parent whose two children are enrolled in an FAT-run school in Shopian district of Kashmir told BOOM, "In the age of growing commercialisation of education, these schools provided quality education to students even from lower sections of the society at very low costs."
He believes that shutting down these schools will be a huge loss for students from lower economic backgrounds. He added that shutting the schools down in the middle of an academic session makes it "doubly cruel."
Mukhtar Ahmad, 30, alumni of one of FAT schools in Pulwama said, "Banning educational institutions on the basis of ideological differences purely depicts the shallowness of the other side. Shutting down the academic activity of these schools means denying quality education to those who cannot afford the elite class schools."
Ahmad said that the government should revoke this mid-session ban to safeguard the future of thousands of students.
Forty two-year-old Mohammad called the move "arbitrary and absurd." "FAT has no links with Jamaat and in fact its constitution says that it is an apolitical organisation for the welfare of mankind. These schools have a brilliant track record of providing quality education to students," he said.
A former student of a school in central Kashmir says that the administration's decision has jeopardised the careers of thousands of students and has left thousands of teachers jobless. "This ban is going to have disastrous consequences for the students and teachers alike," he said.
An alumni of Siraj-ul-Uloom, an FAT school in Shopian, who is currently pursuing PhD from from Jammu, told BOOM that the school has been providing "modern education" to students along with "moral values".
"I remember my classmates who were not in a position to go to modern schools but this school accommodated them. There has been the idea of bridge course which has been put forth by this type of education system," he said, wishing to remain anonymous.
The Ban
Falah-e-Aam Trust is an educational trust under which hundreds of schools were running in Kashmir. It was started in 1972 by the core members of Jamaat-e-Islami. The trust has been a 'collateral damage' due to political rifts in Kashmir. It was banned for carrying its educational activities by many regimes.
Just three years after its inception in 1975, the trust was banned by Sheikh Abdullah, the then chief minister of the erstwhile state. The ban continued till 1977. Hoping that the tough period was over, the trust revived their function. However, it was banned again in 1989 by the administration.
The ban remained in place till 1991 before the court intervened and revoked it. The frequent bans had shook the FAT to its core – parents started to remove their children from the schools.
To avoid such situations in future, Sheikh Abdullah asked the Jamaat members to establish a trust, a Jamaat member who wished to be anonymous said. "When they banned Jamaat, our members went to Sheikh Abdullah and told him about the schools. We said let's fight each other in politics but not at the cost of education, to which he agreed and asked us to establish a trust with non-political affiliation," he said.
After Addullah's permission, a total of 321 schools were associated with the trust, with around 7000 teaching and non-teaching staff available with an enrollment of 85000 students.
Out of 321 schools, 303 schools were those who were only affiliated with FAT and the rest 18 very fully managed by FAT. Many Hindu students and teachers had been part of FAT.
Since the abrogation of Article 370, FAT has been on the radar of investigating agencies in Kashmir..
In November, 2021, the NIA team raided their Nowgam office in Srinagar. Due to frequent checks by the police, CID and other investigating agencies, the FAT-affiliated schools were left unattended as no local management or body was ready to shoulder the responsibility.
Statement from FAT
According to a statement by the FAT, only seven schools are affiliated with the Trust. "The Trust is a non-political entity created for the promotion of education in backward regions and it has no political or any unlawful ambitions at all." the statement read.
The FAT follows the state government-approved syllabi. "Nothing objectionable is being taught in these institutions which can attract any punitive action at all," the statement read. "The Trust is not affiliated to banned Jamaat-Islami. This is a baseless allegation and with these steps by the authorities are defaming and damaging the reputation of FAT."