The Ministry of Education’s plan to introduce Artificial Intelligence into the school curriculum from Class 3 onwards shows India’s commitment to preparing its young people for a future shaped by technology. However, for Jammu and Kashmir, this goal clashes with a harsh reality: more than 60 per cent of schools do not have basic computers, and barely 49 per cent have internet access. This is a deep inequality that threatens to leave an entire generation behind before the race has even begun. The contrast is painful to see. While policymakers in Delhi discuss AI frameworks and advanced teaching methods, students in large parts of J&K still lack the basic tools needed to learn even simple digital skills. The 39 per cent computer access rate is not just a number. It means millions of children will never see, touch, or learn from the very machines that are becoming essential to education and jobs around the world. How can we teach AI to students who have never used a computer? This digital divide is made worse by other gaps in basic facilities. While progress has been made in providing toilets, electricity, and libraries, the lack of digital infrastructure creates a new kind of exclusion that will affect students for the rest of their lives. The transition rate from secondary to higher secondary school is already only 72.9 per cent, showing that many students drop out along the way. Without digital skills, these young people will enter a job market increasingly run by automation and AI at a crippling disadvantage. The solution requires a two-part, urgent approach. First, basic infrastructure must be made the top priority. The government should launch a mission-mode program to equip every school with working computers and reliable internet within a fixed time frame. This is not a luxury. It is essential for any meaningful education in the 21st century. Budgets must reflect this urgency, and partnerships with private companies can help speed up the process. Second, teacher training must happen at the same time as infrastructure is built. Computers without trained teachers are just furniture. Comprehensive and ongoing training in digital teaching methods is essential to ensure that when the computers arrive, they actually transform classrooms instead of gathering dust. The Ministry of Education’s vision for AI is admirable, but it must not become yet another layer of inequality. For the students of Jammu and Kashmir, the road to an AI-enabled future must begin with the most basic step: access to a computer, a connection to the internet, and a teacher who can guide them. Without these, the promise of AI will remain a distant dream—visible, but always out of reach.
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