Srinagar, Sep 23 Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said education and health remain the two foremost responsibilities of his government and stressed that sustained investment in the two sectors is essential for the overall development of the region.
Abdullah was addressing the award ceremony of the ALOHA National Level Competition-2026 Kashmir at the SKICC here.
He called for taking the ALOHA mental arithmetic programme to government schools in J&K, stressing the need to provide children across the education system a level playing field and equip them with skills to compete nationally and internationally.
“Education and health remain the two foremost responsibilities of the government and sustained investment in these sectors is essential for the overall development of the region,” Abdullah said.
Asserting that education is the foundation of everything, the CM said that without education, what can we achieve?
“Education and health: without these two things, there is no point in getting anything else,” he said.
Abdullah said the government is focusing on improving the education system so that children are better prepared to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
He emphasised the need to incorporate emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence into the curriculum and equip students with the knowledge and skills required for the future.
Highlighting the challenge of student retention, the CM said Jammu and Kashmir performs well at the primary and middle-school levels in comparison with the national scenario, but the retention rate declines significantly as students progress to higher classes.
He emphasised that secondary schools need to take concrete steps to bring down school dropout rate , underscoring the need for concerted efforts to ensure that children remain within the education system through the higher secondary level.
Abdullah also stressed that government and private schools should work together rather than view each other as competing systems.
Children studying in both government and private schools are equally the future of J&K, he said, calling for policies that enable private educational institutions to contribute effectively to the education ecosystem.
Abdullah appreciated the mental arithmetic abilities demonstrated by the young participants, and said the achievements of the students were a credit to their parents, teachers and ALOHA International.
He congratulated all participants, emphasising that participation itself was an achievement.
“You are all winners. Whether you took back a trophy from here or not, just being here and being able to compete is a victory and is a win,” he said.
Abdullah said the government would explore taking the ALOHA programme forward in government schools to give students wider access to such learning opportunities.
“This is something that we need to incorporate into the government school system as well, so that we give our children a level playing field,” he said, adding that efforts would be made to expand the ALOHA family in J&K.
(PTI News)
