We are well cognizant of the fact that the High speed internet in the UT of J&k has been suspended from last 8 months.It effected life of every citizen especially the students studying in different institutions.
Nowadays Social media plays a cardinal role in every student’s life, as it is elementary and convenient to access information, provide information and communicate via social media.Professors, teachers from different institutions of the world use social media as a way of teaching by creating pages or through by channel on YouTube for the students where the information can be accessed and which the students of j&k woefully are not able to seek knowledge from it due to the suspension of high speed internet.
The students of j&k are agonized with lot of problems due to the uncomplimentary situation in the Valley and which also lead to the delay of many semesters.
The thing is that nowadays we are more dependent on internet whether it is education, business, marketing etc.
The more person is dependent on something the more it becomes vital to him/her. According to me we the students of j&k are less updated as compared to other students of India ,it is because we are not able to access the informative lectures given by different professors of the world.
Right to be updated,right to be educated is one of the fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian constitution therefore it is the voilation of the same.
Now the world is quarantined due to the outbreak of COVID-19, and I think the students in their homes are able to listen lectures or to seek study material provided by different professors & teachers and therefore their education system will not be too much effected.
Now as far as students of j&k are concerned we are not able to listen lectures distinctly or collect any study material due to low speed of internet as it is less than 70 KB/s.
We are paying for 4g internet but in return we are getting 2g internet & sometimes no internet at all.
It does not only effect the education system of students but also leads to mental distress and apathy towards studies which indirectly influences students to take iniquitous steps like smoking and abuse of drugs.
Therefore students of j&k suffer health and mental issues too, when they lose interest towards studies.
Apart from internet there are other things too which effects the students life in the Valley like strikes, Curfews, encounters,high snowfall, power cuts, heavy rains,too much cold etc but it can be compensated not fully but half, if we have access to High speed internet.
Being the student of Kashmir University I myself faced many problems due to suspension of internet, I was apprehensive that I might face the backlogs of many subjects in coming semester examination as I was not able to collect study material or listen lectures.
We know it well that little knowledge is the dangerous thing and it has very pessimistic ramifications on students mind.
It is my humble request to the administration kindly restore high speed internet so that we will be able to compensate what we have lost in past 8 months.
Writer : Kamran Ashraf
Law student in University of Kashmir
