AJK Education Minister Chairs Key Meeting in MuzaffarabadAzad Kashmir

The meeting was attended by Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education Sohail Azam, Special Secretary Surayya Khanum, Additional Secretary Misbah Awan, Director General Curriculum Raja Naseer Ahmed, Senior Chief Planning Cell Javed Minhas, Chairman Textbook Board Syed Tufail Bukhari, Managing Director Teachers Foundation Rizwana Malik and other senior officials. It began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, and the minister welcomed the newly appointed secretary.

Biometric attendance and digitisation

The meeting decided to introduce an EMIS attendance app and activate the biometric system to ensure the attendance of teachers and other staff. In the first phase, the app will be installed in 50 primary schools in each district within 15 days, with full rollout across the state by March 2027. Of the 1,900 biometric devices installed in high, higher secondary and middle schools, the 1,700 functional devices will be fully activated within seven days, and the app will also be installed in the remaining 200 schools.

The minister praised Kotli district’s web portal project and directed that a working plan be prepared to extend it to other districts. The portal, developed by a team led by Syed Jamshed Ahmed Bukhari and Hamza Ali Syed, will provide a real-time dashboard on the performance of educational institutions. In the next phase, the department will move to a modern e-filing system to make office work faster and more transparent.

The meeting also decided to prepare a working paper to implement the federal Foundational Learning Policy 2026 in Azad Kashmir and seek the cabinet’s approval, and activate teacher training units in all districts.

The minister voiced concern over the unsatisfactory Class 9 results in the last session and asked the inquiry committee to submit its recommendations promptly. On the basis of SEPI ranking, cash prizes were approved for students who performed notably in the matriculation examinations and certificates for the best-performing teachers, with ceremonies to be held at district and divisional level.

On service matters, the committee preparing service rules for lab assistants and elementary teachers in cadres including drawing, technical and agro-tech was directed to submit its recommendations within seven days. Administrative officers were told to keep their records complete and process files daily.

A state-level ceremony will also be held to recognise philanthropists and non-governmental organisations supporting the construction and repair of government schools and the establishment of EC rooms. A committee headed by Syed Tufail Bukhari will prepare a working paper within a week.

The minister said the Government of Azad Kashmir would use all available resources to raise the standard of education through transparency, merit, modern technology and administrative reforms. Secretary Sohail Azam also pledged effective and timely implementation of the reforms.