Most educational consultancies in Kashmir fake, claims Private Schools Assn

Srinagar, July 2: Around 80 percent of educational consultancies, running in the valley are “fake” and are ruining the future of youth, said Private School Association Jammu &Kashmir (PSAJK).

Chairman, PSAJK G N Var said they have been receiving number of complaints from the students that they have been duped either by the outside professional colleges or by the local consultancies.

 

“There are around 150 consultancies in the Kashmir region. Out of 150, around 125 are running illegally. These consultancies are minting money from the parents,” he said during global admissions conclave, an event organized by PSAJK in collaboration with Princeton Review here at Tagore hall.

The aim of the event was to provide information to the local youth on the need to shift focus towards a merit based approach for seeking global admissions.

“The objective is to create a competitive academic ecosystem in the valley, so that students get inspired to seek admissions in top global universities and henceforth be at the forefront of the latest advancements in the fields of science and technology,” read the statement.

Var said that in the past, he held many interactions over the issue of fake consultancies.

“I brought the issue into the public domain several times in the past. I gave press conferences in 2014, 2015 and 2016.But the press conferences have not yielded the desire result. The fake consultancies continue to work,” he said.

“It seems they are hand in glove with the authorities. The government has been acting as a mute spectator, despite the fact that the association brought everything into  limelight from fake consultancies to its impact on the students,” he added.

Referring to the year 2009, he said that many students were duped, investigation was done but the guilty were not punished.

“One of the students was the relative of the then Station House Officer (SHO) Budgam. FIR was lodged, some persons were declared proclaimed offenders but they have not been arrested yet. During investigation, it came to fore that the college didn’t exist,” he said.

He added that “If the measures were not taken to end the menace, we will involve all the stake holders’ including bar association and civil society, and launch a full-fledged campaign against them.”