Jammu and Kashmir administration has announced the exams forclass 5 to 12 even as the security concerns remain. According to a report, theexams have been slated to begin from October 29. While Class 10 exams willbegin from October 29, Class 12 examinations will commence from October 30, theIndian Express report said. It also added that class 9 exams have beenscheduled to start from November 18. “Class 10 exam will be completed in 20days while Class 9 and 12 exams will be completed in about a month,” JKBOSEchairperson Veena Pandita was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

Though the decision is seen as part of administration’scontinued effort to normalise the situation in the Valley, it has left theparent worried over the security of their children, the report added. Eversince Article 370 abrogation and subsequent lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir,situation has been tense since August 5. There have been many sporadicincidents of violence in the region. On August 19, 190 schools in various zonesof Srinagar district were reopened, but the attendance of students remained anissue. In fact, a report by The Wire said that the Jammu and Kashmir Governor’soffice has decided to keep a strict vigil on the day-t-day functioning of the schoolsand other educational institutes in the region.

With uneasy calm, not many parents are keen on sending theirchildren to schools. In a bid to bring back normalcy in the region, part fromschool exams, the administration is also looking for conduction exams forunder-graduate students, The Wire said.

On October 16, an Apple trader from Punjab was shot dead andanother injured in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district,where normal life remained affected for the 73rd consecutive day since theabrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution. According to the police,Charanjeet Singh and Sanjeev were shot at by 3-4 unidentified terrorists around7.30 pm. They were rushed to the district hospital in Pulwama where Charanjeetsuccumbed to his injuries during the treatment while Sanjeev's condition isstated to be critical.

This is the second killing of the day and third suchincident in as many days in the Valley. On the same day, a migrant labourerfrom Chhattisgarh was shot dead by terrorists in Pulwama district of southKashmir. Sethi Kumar Sagar, a resident of Besoli area of Chhattisgarh, was abrick kiln worker. He was walking with another civilian when two terroristsshot at him near Kakpora railway station, Director General of Police DilbaghSingh said.