Kashmir’s Problem With Math

A ground-level look at how weak foundations, staffing gaps and exam pressure are reshaping students’ relationship with numbers.

- Rayees Yaseen

On a winter morning in south Kashmir, a Class 7 classroom fills with the sound of chalk scraping against a blackboard.

The teacher writes a long division problem, turns around and asks the students to copy it down. A boy in the second row raises his hand and asks why the numbers are arranged that way. The teacher pauses, then says, “This is how it comes in the exam.” The lesson moves on.

After class, the boy tells me he likes science and wants to be an engineer. Mathematics, he says, makes him nervous. He studies it every day and still feels lost. His parents tell him to focus on passing marks and not worry too much.

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"Maths is not for everyone,” they say.

Scenes like this play out across Kashmir, in government schools and private ones alike. They offer a window into a deeper problem that has been building for years: mathematics is steadily losing ground here.

In many government primary schools, mathematics is taught by teachers who did not study the subject themselves. Some are trained in language or social science and are asked to handle math simpwly because no one else is available. At first glance, this may seem manageable. Young children are learning basic numbers and operations. Over time, the gaps begin to show.