PHOTOS: Kashmir schooling now more challenging with virus

Decades of insurgency, protests and military crackdowns have constantly disrupted formal schooling in Kashmir, where rebels have fought for decades for independence or unification with Pakistan, which controls part of the Muslim-majority region. A generation of students have seen their education upended, and empty classrooms are a familiar sight. Over the years, volunteer-run community schools and makeshift classrooms have emerged to fill the gap when formal schools shut, but large-scale troop deployments and restrictions on public movement mean they reach only a small proportion of students. Now, the coronavirus lockdown is amplifying the problem.

Updated on: Aug 09, 2020 5:33 PM IST

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Mohsin Shafi holds a book and sits for a photograph inside their houseboat on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Schools in the region reopened after six months in late February, after a strict lockdown that began in August 2019, when India scrapped the region’s semi-autonomous status. In March schools were shut again because of the coronavirus pandemic. "We are not able to keep up with lessons online and we miss our regular school," he said. (AP)

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A woman walks inside an empty school that has remained closed for the past four months because of the coronavirus pandemic in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. (AP)

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Kashmiri students walk homeward after attending an open-air class inside Eidgah, a ground reserved for Eid prayers, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Friday, July 31, 2020. When months went by without teaching, Muneer Alam, an engineer-turned-math teacher, started the informal community school in the form of an open-air classroom in June. Schools in the region reopened after six months in late February, after a strict lockdown that began in August 2019. In March schools were shut again because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)

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A school bag lies next to a doll belonging to a young Kashmiri student inside her home in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Thursday, July 18, 2020. Decades of insurgency, protests and military crackdowns have constantly disrupted formal schooling in Kashmir, where rebels have fought for decades for independence or unification with Pakistan. A generation of students have seen their education upended, and empty classrooms are a familiar sight. Now, the coronavirus lockdown is amplifying the problem. (AP)

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College student Raqeeba Jan, who had to return home to Kashmir because of the pandemic, studies inside her home in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Thursday, July 23, 2020. A year after India’s sudden move to strip Kashmir's semi-autonomy, high-speed internet remains restricted in the region. Confined to their homes, students have found it challenging to study online with the painstakingly slow internet connections, which also faces outages following the frequent gunbattles between rebels and Indian soldiers. (AP)

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A face mask hangs on a study table of a Kashmiri student in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Friday, July 18, 2020. Experts say lack of formal schooling during the lockdown could have a serious psychological and emotional impact on the children. With no opportunity to be with friends, many homebound students are struggling to reimagine the school experience as parents take over the role of teachers. (AP)

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Muneer Alam, an engineer-turned-math teacher, sprays disinfectant before the start of an early morning outdoor class at Eidgah, a ground reserved for Eid prayers, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Friday, July 18, 2020. Alam said the driving force to start the open-air classes was seeing children all around him depressed and anxious. The open-air classroom buzzes with students. Some sit on chairs. Others place themselves on rugged mats or on the ground. Social distancing is maintained. (AP)

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Iqra Nazir listens to her teacher Muneer Ahmed during a math coaching class in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Over the years, volunteer-run community schools and makeshift classrooms have emerged to fill the gap when formal schools shut down, but large-scale troop deployments and restrictions on public movement mean they reach only a small proportion of students. (AP)

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Chairs and benches lie inside an empty classroom of a private school that has remained closed for the past four months because of the coronavirus pandemic in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. (AP)

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Kashmiri students attend an open-air early morning class inside Eidgah, a ground reserved for Eid prayers, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Friday, July 18, 2020. (AP)