Daijiworld Media Network –Kupwara
Kupwara, May 20: Even as schools across Kashmir’s border villages reopened last week in a sign of returning normalcy, a harsh ground reality continues to haunt families grappling with the aftermath of heavy Pakistani shelling. For many children whose homes were ravaged, the path back to school remains uncertain and distant.
Following retaliatory strikes by Indian forces across the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), intense artillery fire from the Pakistani side targeted villages in north Kashmir, leaving homes in ruins and families displaced.
Though educational institutions resumed operations, many students, particularly those from private schools, have yet to step back into classrooms — not because they don't want to, but because they can't.
Yunis Naik from Salamabad in Uri, Baramulla district, is among several parents who feel helpless. “Our house was destroyed in the shelling. My children are studying in a private school, but they haven’t been able to attend classes since the incident,” he shared.
“There’s nothing left — no books, no uniforms, not even their schoolbags. The government is helping children from government schools, but what about ours?”
In Kupwara district’s Batpora village, six families are in a similar plight. Tasveer Ahmad, whose home was flattened during the shelling, described the despair. “We have no roof over our heads. How can we send our children to school like this?” he asked, holding back emotion.
“Everything we had — books, uniforms, clothes — was lost in the fire. Until we receive some basic help, sending our children back to school is out of the question.”
A senior official from the education department confirmed to Daijiworld that directives have been issued to district authorities to assess the full scale of damage and ensure that all affected students are supported.
“We understand that several children have lost essential educational materials. Our immediate goal is to provide them with books, uniforms, and whatever they need to return to school at the earliest,” the official said.
However, relief measures have so far focused primarily on government school students, leaving a significant number enrolled in private institutions dependent on local aid and goodwill.
Families in the region are appealing for broader government support that includes private school students, stressing that all children deserve equal access to education, especially after facing such trauma.
For now, amid the rubble of shattered homes and broken dreams, education remains a casualty of conflict — but hope endures that with timely intervention, these children can once again find their way back to the classroom.