Incorporation of National Anthem Among Host of Guidelines Rolled Out for ‘Uniform’ Conduct of Morning Assemblies in J&K

Asif Iqbal

Srinagar, Jun 13 : School Education Department, Jammu and Kashmir, Thursday directed the schools to incorporate national anthem alongside several other activities for ‘uniform’ conduct of morning assemblies in respective institutions.

Underscoring the importance of morning assemblies, the School Education Department, said that, “to kickstart a school day on a positive note and to instill a sense of unity and discipline amongst students, Morning Assemblies at the start of school day have proved to be an invaluable ritual of the schooling system. They serve as platforms to nurture the values of moral integrity, shared community, and mental tranquility. However, it has been observed that such significant ritual/tradition ‘is not being carried out uniformly’ across various schools of JK UT.”

Maintaining that in order to ‘maintain uniformity’, it is impressed upon all the stakeholders to, henceforth, conduct Morning Assemblies across the respective schools as per the following guidelines as; “Morning Assembly shall be of 20 minutes duration and all students and teachers shall assemble at the designated area at the commencement of school schedule.”

“Morning Assembly shall begin with the National Anthem as per standard protocol.”

“In order to inculcate leadership qualities and upgrade the skills of the students as mandated under NEP-2020, three to four students/teachers shall compulsorily give awareness/motivational talk on any of the following topics each day: Autobiographies: Great personalities/Freedom fighters, Daily Announcements: Updates on school events, activities, and important announcements; Inspirational Talks: Motivational speeches to inspire students and set a positive tone for the day; Theme of the Week/Month: Introducing a theme for the week or month, such as kindness, diversity, or environmental awareness; Student Achievements: Recognition of students’ academic, athletic, or extracurricular achievements; Character Education: Discussions on values like honesty, respect, and responsibility, duty, citizenship and constitutional values; Stress Management and health Tips: Tips on staying safe, inculcating mental strength to navigate the problems of adolescence and leading stress-free life style and Cultural Celebrations: Learning about and celebrating different cultures, holidays, or historical events,” reads the circular, a copy of which lies with GNS.