More kids in school

Move to reopen schools in the Valley has created the first murmurs of discontent against the separatists after a section of them urged parents not to send children to school.

Move to reopen schools in the Valley has created the first murmurs of discontent against the separatists after a section of them urged parents not to send children to school.

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On Tuesday, a day after schools were reopened and some school buses attacked, attendance in schools was thin in Srinagar and moderate in other parts of Kashmir — but better than Monday, officials said.

Separatists, led by hardliners like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have asked people not to send children to school when a call for a shutdown is given. The response to the move has been a mix of defiance towards the state and fear of separatists.

“The government has asked us to get children to school,” said Habib Ullah, a parent who didn’t allow his two sons to go for classes. “How do we ensure their safety if they are attacked by stone-throwers?”

But the boys fell differently. “We want to go to school but our parents forced us to stay home,” Ullah’s younger son said.