Srinagar
Governor NN Vohra today said the students of the Kashmir valley were talented, skilled and hard-working. He said they had the potential to move ahead in their lives provided their education and studies were not disrupted or interrupted.

Speaking at the conclusion of The Tribune Inter-School Debate-2017, where he was the chief guest, the Governor said there was no reason why Kashmir should lag in development. However, he added that “happenings on the border or on this side of the border do cause disruptions”.

Stating that the present day Kashmir had got so many opportunities of learning and the places in the shapes of universities, the Governor said today students had got many avenues at their disposal to learn and gain higher education.

“I think if the education of children in Kashmir is not interrupted or disturbed, they can move far ahead in their lives,” the Governor said while recalling his over nine-year tenure in the state as the Governor and Chancellor of various universities.

“When I took over as Chancellor of universities, I asked the Vice Chancellors or Deans about the number of students qualifying the all-India services, there was hardly any answer at some places. Some said an odd one or two students from J&K qualify for these services every two or three years.”

“But today, I can say with pride, that in the last batches of Central services, students hailing from the remotest parts and corners of the J&K, particularly the Valley, have qualified. The students are now clearing the IAS, IFS, IPS, Forest and other all-India Central services exams,” he said, adding that even the girls from the state were bagging the highest positions in the police services examinations.

“There is no reason that we (people of Kashmir) should lag behind. We have been left behind to some extent because of the prevailing situation in the region. Something happens on the border or this side of the border, which causes disruption,” he said while referring to the prevailing political and security situation in J&K.

Congratulating the Editor-in-Chief and his colleagues from The Tribune Trust for organising the inter-school debate, rich in content and presentation, the Governor said such events provide children a chance to speak for or against the motion and also let them to show their power of expression, confidence and clarity of thought.

“Even If a child speaks for three minutes, he has to think beforehand on what he will say. If it is five minutes, it is a bit easy but speaking in just three minutes is a bit difficult,” he said while recalling his own student days when the debaters were given five minutes to speak.

“In those days the prizes were small, but fortunately today, we have good prizes and big awards,” the Governor said, adding that he as Chancellor of various universities of J&K had urged the institutions to hold annual debates regularly so that the students take part in such events and get a chance to speak their mind and enhance their confidence.

Regarding the topic of the debate, the Governor said though he was not an expert on the subject, “Googlelisation,” he was aware of it.

“The girls who spoke against the motion, uprooted Google in their speeches. ‘Inhon nay toh Google sahib ki jaddein ukhaad di,” the Governor spoke in a lighter tone, drawing smiles from the participants.

“Aaj agar Google sahib yahan tashreef rakhtay, unko shayad yahan say bhagna padta,” the Governor continued in Urdu. He, however, made it clear to the students that every technological development, innovation or even the revolution had both good as well as bad effects.

“In our times, we had to read a book, understand its words and consult the teacher for further understanding. But as I now observe that habit is not there in my grandchildren. Though I think handling a book, reading it and understanding the text is a bit difficult and time consuming, at the same time googlelisation has eased the lives, like consulting an online dictionary. On the other hand, the advantage is that you can take out your mobile in a moving bus or car to get a dictionary meaning.”