The Education System of Kashmir: Cramming Knowledge but Forgetting Skills By Masnoon Malik

The Education System of Kashmir: Cramming Knowledge but Forgetting Skills  

*By Masnoon Malik*  

When I look back at my school life, I realize most of it was about memorizing, not understanding. From the first day of school till almost the end of my 12th mid-session, my days were filled with notes, guidebooks, and late-night revision sessions. I studied in schools in Shopian and Pulwama and was also a student of several coaching centers in Srinagar and Shopian. Every class, every test, every conversation about the future revolved around the same thing: exams and marks.  

We were told that the key to success was memorizing entire chapters, formulas, and definitions word for word. It did not matter if we understood what they meant. The goal was to fill our notebooks and, later, our answer sheets. I still remember how proud some students felt when they could write down an entire page exactly as it was printed in the book, as if education were about perfect reproduction instead of real learning.  

In those coaching centers, hundreds of students sat in cramped rooms, each one trying to learn faster than the other. Teachers taught the same questions again and again, helping us “crack” exams instead of helping us think. We all believed this was education, but in truth, it was just training in memorization.  

 The Habit That Dulls Curiosity  

The problem was not in our effort but in our approach. We were all hardworking, yet we were not encouraged to explore beyond the syllabus. Creativity, practical thinking, and confidence were hardly part of the process. Students, like me, could recite paragraphs fluently but struggled when asked to apply them to real-life situations. Over time, this made many of us afraid to think differently or to take risks.  

A friend once told me, “I can learn everything before the exam, but once it’s over, I forget it all.” That sentence reflects our entire system. We study to pass, not to understand. It is sad because this kind of learning kills imagination. It makes students dependent on guides and tuition notes, turning learning into a short-term race instead of a lifelong habit.  

The Cost of Cramming  

In Kashmir, this pressure is everywhere. Parents worry about marks more than happiness. Teachers are judged by how many of their students score above ninety. Schools compete in pass percentages. Somewhere in the middle of all this, the real purpose of education gets lost.  

Cramming creates fear instead of confidence. It teaches obedience more than curiosity. Many bright students lose faith in themselves because they do not fit into this exam system. Some realize too late that even after getting good marks, they lack the skills that life beyond school truly demands. When these students walk into job interviews or try to start something on their own, they realize how little their memory-based learning helps them.  

This is the biggest tragedy of the current education structure: it teaches us how to copy, not how to create.  

Why Skills Matter  

The world is moving fast, but our classrooms are still slow. While countries are training their youth in problem-solving, teamwork, and technology, much of our system remains stuck in old ways. Real education should be about using knowledge to solve real problems.  

When learning is skill-based, it invites curiosity. Students are encouraged to question, experiment, and express. It builds learners who can think on their own. A student who learns to design, farm, repair, or create something feels confident, useful, and independent. That kind of learning stays forever, unlike the cramming that vanishes after exams.  

Kashmir’s youth deserve chances to explore vocational education, technology skills, writing, art, and social leadership. These are the tools that can transform potential into progress.  

Hope in the Middle of Change  

I have started noticing small changes around us. Some NGOs and youth-led groups are beginning to bring alternative education into our towns. Organizations that run workshops on digital literacy, environmental awareness, and creative learning are slowly planting seeds of change.  

There are places now where children learn by doing things—by creating art, writing stories, joining community programs, and developing projects that solve local problems. New education reforms and policies that focus on holistic and practical learning are also bringing hope. Yet, real progress will only come when schools, parents, and teachers believe that understanding is more important than blind memorization.  

Every teacher needs to become a mentor, every parent a supporter of curiosity, and every classroom a space for thinking freely. That is when our education system will begin to heal.  

 Toward a New Way of Learning  

When I think about my years of schooling, from Shopian to Pulwama, I see how much I could memorize but how little I could apply. Those experiences shaped me, but they also left me wishing for more. Today, when I reflect on the future of education in Kashmir, I believe we need to break free from this pattern of cramming.  

We need to make education about life, not just about exams. Children should be taught to learn by doing, questioning, and creating. Imagine classrooms filled with discussions instead of dictations, workshops instead of worksheets, and projects that connect learning to the real world.  

Education should help us grow as thinkers, problem-solvers, and dreamers. The time has come to move beyond the pressure of marks and build a culture of meaning. The youth of Kashmir are full of potential, but they need a system that trusts their curiosity more than their memory.  

The day we focus on skills, creativity, and purpose, we will finally see an education system that empowers instead of limits.  

Written by Masnoon Malik:-a youth voice from Kashmir who believes that real education begins when learning becomes living.