Srinagar, Dec 20: In a latest development, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has made the six-month bridge course mandatory for the primary school teachers with B.Ed degrees.

The six-month crash course has been made mandatory for those teachers appointed between June 28, 2018 and August 11, 2023.

As per the official documents, the crash course has been made mandatory for the teachers in the wake of the Supreme Court order issued on April 8 of 2024.

In the wake of the SC directions, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) issued a notification stating that it has designed the six-month Certificate Course (Bridge) in Primary Teacher Education, which has been approved by the Ministry of Education, Government of India vide its letter issued on April 7 of this year

The course has been designed with the conditions that the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) may apply for recognition to conduct the course on ODL mode from NCTE.

“This course will only be meant for those primary teachers who have been appointed with B.Ed. degree in accordance with NCTE’s notification dated 28.06.2018 and who were in-service before the date of the Supreme Court’s judgment issued on November 8 of 2023,” it reads.

It reads that an appropriate mechanism will be evolved by NCTE and NIOS to ensure that any candidate who is not covered under the ambit of the judgment shall not avail of the Course.

“Orders of the competent authority in this department will be obtained in this regard. The participant teachers shall complete the course within one year of the commencement of the course of NIOS,” the official communication reads.

It reads that qualifying the Bridge Course will be strictly meant for teachers to protect their existing employment.

“This Bridge Course will not be valid for these teachers seeking subsequent employment as primary teachers,” it reads.

Following this, an official communication has been sent by the Joint Director State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) (Jammu division) to the Director School Education Jammu (DSEJ) with the request for dissemination of the instructions regarding the mandatory six-month certificate (Bridge) course for Primary Teachers and to forward the list of the eligible teachers.

“All in-service teachers appointed between June 28 of 2018 and August 11 of 2023, and presently teaching at the Primary Level with B.Ed. qualification, are required to undergo the Six-Month Certificate Course through NIOS under the NCTE norms as per the SC judgment,” it reads.

“Kindly forward the communication to all Chief Education Officers, ZEOs, and Heads of Institutions under your administrative control in the Jammu Division, ensuring that all eligible teachers register for the mandatory course at the link provided by NIOS,” it reads.

The Joint Director SCERT, who is also the State Nodal Officer for NIOS course, has also sought a consolidated list of all such eligible in-teachers

Following this, the DSEJ has forwarded a communication to all the CEOs of the Jammu division with the direction to furnish the list of all eligible teachers for the mandatory six-month certificate (Bridge) course for primary teachers with B.Ed. qualification.

However, the move has evoked a mixed response from the teaching community, who say that the recruitment in the School Education Department (SED) was not school-based but the candidates are recruited as General Line Teachers (GLTs) without any proper categorisation.

“In States outside Jammu and Kashmir, the process of recruitment is school-based as the teachers are recruited for primary schools, and higher level of schools,” a government school teacher told Greater Kashmir.

The teachers said the Mandatory six months certificate course raises questions on the validity and relevance of the B.Ed degree acquired by the teachers.

“Our teachers do not remain posted in primary schools permanently. The department has sought the list of teachers presently posted in primary schools but next year the same teachers can be transferred to middle schools or high schools,” the teachers said.

Meanwhile, an official at SCERT said that all the teachers were B.Ed qualified and certified them as trained teachers.

“The SCERT has received a representation from B.Ed qualified teachers, which will be discussed with the regional director NIOS in Jammu, and further action will be taken accordingly,” the official told Greater Kashmir.

Jammu, Dec 20: Marking a major boost to food security and logistics in Kashmir, the first-ever food grain freight train of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is set to reach the Anantnag Goods Terminal on Sunday.

The moved is stated to ensure uninterrupted supplies to far-flung areas of the Valley.

Officials told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the train, dispatched from Ajitwal Railway Station in Firozpur Division, is carrying around 1,384 tonnes of food grains loaded in 21 Bogie covered wagons. The Anantnag Goods Terminal, inaugurated on August 9 this year under the Jammu Division of Northern Railway, has already handled cement rakes and other industrial and mixed goods.

The arrival of the first food grain rake marks another milestone in integrating Kashmir with the national freight network.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jammu Division, Uchit Singhal said the move would ensure an uninterrupted and affordable supply of food grains, especially to remote areas of the Valley.

“Transportation of food grains through railways will be faster and cheaper, directly benefiting farmers and consumers,” he said.

He said that the initiative will strengthen local markets, generate employment, and boost the agricultural economy. “This is a historic achievement and a major step towards meeting the food grain requirements of the Kashmir Valley. It reflects our commitment to railway modernization and regional development,” Singhal said.

He further said that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the railways are planning to expand this service in the future and run more such trains to other parts of Kashmir, which will revolutionize logistics and the supply chain across the Union Territory.

Pulwama, Dec 20: Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday intercepted a man during patrolling on New Circular Road in Pulwama district and recovered six posters of banned Jama’at-e-Islami and two mobile phones from his possession, officials said.

A senior police officer told news agency Kashmir News Corner—(KNC) that the individual was identified as Hilal Ahmad, a resident of Khader Moh, Kakapora.

A case under Sections 10 and 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been registered at Police Station Pulwama, and further investigation is underway, the officer added.

Srinagar Dec 20: A special court in Kashmir has issued a non-bailable warrant against Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen chief Mohammad Yousuf Shah, popularly known as Syed Salah-ud-din, after observing that he is evading arrest in a terror-related case registered in 2012.

The warrant was issued by the Special Judge (NIA) Budgam, Yahaya Firdous, who said that the case diary revealed sufficient material linking Salah-ud-din to the alleged offences. “The Investigating Officer has collected sufficient evidence which prima facie connects the accused Shah for the commission of crime under Sections 13, 18, 20, 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 506 of the Ranbir Penal Code,” the court observed.

The judge said that the original case diary has been forwarded to the competent authority for sanction, after which the charge sheet will be produced before the court for trial in absentia. Accepting the submission of the Investigating Officer, the court held that Salah-ud-din was deliberately avoiding arrest.

“As such, the court is satisfied that the accused is evading arrest. A non-bailable warrant is issued against the accused with the direction to the police of Jammu and Kashmir to arrest him,” the order said according to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS).

Salah-ud-din contested the 1987 Assembly elections in the Kashmir Valley before crossing over to Pakistan in 1990 following the outbreak of militancy. He later rose to become the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen, once the largest militant outfit operating in Jammu and Kashmir, and was also appointed chairman of the United Jihad Council, an umbrella body of militant groups.

In 2017, the United States designated Salah-ud-din as a global terrorist. In 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs also declared him a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha terminated the services of Salah-ud-din’s three sons — Shahid Yousuf, Shakeel Yousuf and Mueed Yousuf — from government employment under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, which allows dismissal without a formal inquiry on grounds of national security. Two of his sons, Shahid and Shakeel, have also been arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with a terror-funding case.

Kupwara, Dec 20: A viral video showing a patient being shifted on a trolley from the Associated District Hospital, Government Medical College (GMC) Handwara, to the market area for a CT scan triggered widespread concern and criticism on social media on Wednesday.

Responding to the incident, the Medical Superintendent of the Associated District Hospital, GMC Handwara, addressed a press conference on Thursday and refuted allegations of negligence levelled by sections of the media and on social platforms. He said the hospital’s CT scan machine had become non-functional due to a software-related issue, following which the patient was advised to undergo the scan at SDH Kupwara or GMC Baramulla.

The Medical Superintendent stated that despite being informed of the alternatives, the patient’s attendants opted to take the patient outside the hospital premises on a trolley after learning that CT scan services were available at a nearby private diagnostic centre. “Our security guard repeatedly requested them not to take the hospital trolley outside, but they did not comply and moved towards the market area,” he said.

He further informed that an internal inquiry committee has been constituted to investigate the incident and ascertain the facts. Meanwhile, a Junior Resident Doctor has been placed under suspension pending the outcome of the inquiry, he added.

The incident has once again raised concerns over healthcare infrastructure at the hospital, even as the administration maintained that standard protocols were followed and the matter is under internal review.