Srinagar, Aug 9: The School Education Department (SED) has started mass Parent Teacher Meeting (PTM) in government schools in a bid to regain missing public ownership for the schools. As per the officials, the PTMs will bridge the missing link between the schools and the parents and will ensure proper communication with the stakeholders.
In this regard, circular instructions have been issued by the Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) to all the CEOs to ensure PTMs are organised at Cluster level throughout Kashmir. “To further strengthen community involvement in education and foster a vibrant school environment, mass Parent Teacher Meeting will be organised at the cluster level from August 9 of 2025,” reads a circular issued by Director School Education Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Itoo.
The initiative aims to facilitate broader engagement between parents and teachers, discuss student progress, and collectively address areas for improvement. In this regard, the Cluster Heads and Head of Institutions have been directed to undertake meticulous advance planning in consultation with the relevant stakeholders including School Management Committee (SMC).
“The focus should be on making the PTM an outcome-based event, ensuring meaningful interactions and actionable feedback.
The Directorate has decided to reward the best performing cluster in organising the Mass PTM. Besides PTMs, the department has also decided to celebrate Alumni Day at Cluster level.
“All Higher Secondary Schools (HSS) will observe Alumni Day on September 5,2025. This day provides an excellent opportunity to reconnect with former students, celebrate their achievements, and harness their experience for the benefit of current students.” the circular reads.
As per the circular instructions, schools have been asked to consider combining their Alumni day celebration with the Alumni meet to a more integrated and grand event.
“Heads of the schools and cluster heads must plan these events comprehensively, involving stakeholders and SMCs to ensure their success and impact,” it reads.
The initiative comes at a time when the government run schools lack the community involvement due to which the schools lack the public ownership.
“The aim of PTM used to be a routine matter but it doesn’t happen in schools these days. So the department has again taken this initiative to regain public involvement so that the parents whose kids are enrolled in the schools, become part of the institutions,” Joint Director (north) education, Hakeem Tanveer Ahmad told Greater Kashmir.
He said besides parents, other stakeholders should also become part of the PTMs which will do away with the trust deficit prevailing within the system.
“We hope that the parents and other stakeholders will show their ownership towards the schools and make PTM a successful initiative,” he said.
