The Lesson Plan Solution for Kashmir

The NEP 2020 offers Kashmir a chance to rebuild its education system from the ground up. But without thoughtful lesson planning, its promise will remain out of reach.

- Dr Mushtaq Rather

In the hills and hamlets of Kashmir, the classroom remains a fragile space. In many government schools, a chalkboard and some benches are all that greet children every morning. But beyond the crumbling walls and basic infrastructure, the real challenge lies in something more invisible: the absence of structured lesson planning.

It is easy to assume that a teacher who knows their subject will naturally teach it well. But mastery of content means little if the teaching has no direction. Good teaching does not begin when the teacher walks into the classroom. It begins long before, with careful thinking about what students need to learn, and how they will learn it best.

Lesson planning has always mattered, but with the arrival of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, it has become even more urgent. The policy calls for a shift away from rote learning and passive memorisation. It urges schools to recognise that children are different. They come to class with different strengths, interests and learning styles. A one-size-fits-all model no longer works. The teacher is expected to meet every child where they are, and help them grow from there.