Barely two weeks after taking oath on October 27, Jammu and Kashmir's new Education Minister has picked a fight that parents across the Union Territory will follow closely: the price of a private school book set.

Speaking to media persons on Monday, Shameema Firdous said that very expensive books are being sold in private institutions and that those institutions should reconsider. "We will do something about it. The book sets they have kept for Rs 10,000, Rs 6,000, Rs 7,000, we are going to pass an order very soon on that," she said. She added that she will call a meeting with the Education Director and other officials, and that everything should happen under discipline.

The warning came alongside a promise for the government system. Firdous said children in government schools will get free textbooks and uniforms so that they can stand at the same level as private school students, and that this will draw more people towards government schools. "Why do we give more to private schools? Our children have to work hard; they have to be brought to the same level as private school children," she said. The Books Day initiative, she said, has been started so that children and parents do not face difficulty, as many cannot afford books.

The old problems waiting on her desk

Free kits are not an entirely new idea in J&K. More than 13 lakh government school students were reported in 2025 to be receiving free textbooks and uniforms under the Right to Education Act. The harder test has been getting them to classrooms on time. When the session began on November 1 last year, most institutions were still waiting for fresh textbook supplies. For parents, delivery may matter as much as the announcement.

The private school question has a history too. Greater Kashmir has previously reported repeated complaints about schools prescribing expensive books from private publishers, and the school education directorate in Jammu has earlier told private schools not to compel parents to buy books and uniforms from particular shops. What Firdous has yet to spell out is what her order will contain, whether a price cap, a rule on prescribed publishers or something else, and how it will be enforced.

She also waded into a separate grievance among job seekers. Asked about J&K Bank recruitment, she said it is a matter of regret that the age limit has been kept at 30 years. "They should keep it up to 40 years, because no appointment has taken place for the last 10 years. Keeping that in view, they should reconsider this," she said. Applications for the bank's current Probationary Officer and Banking Associate drive are open until November 26, leaving little time for any rethink to help this round of aspirants.

For a minister new to the job, the promises are easy to make and popular to hear. The order on book prices will be the first real measure of how far she intends to go.

Barely two weeks after taking oath on October 27, Jammu and Kashmir's new Education Minister has picked a fight that parents across the Union Territory will follow closely: the price of a private school book set.

Speaking to media persons on Monday, Shameema Firdous said that very expensive books are being sold in private institutions and that those institutions should reconsider. "We will do something about it. The book sets they have kept for Rs 10,000, Rs 6,000, Rs 7,000, we are going to pass an order very soon on that," she said. She added that she will call a meeting with the Education Director and other officials, and that everything should happen under discipline.

The warning came alongside a promise for the government system. Firdous said children in government schools will get free textbooks and uniforms so that they can stand at the same level as private school students, and that this will draw more people towards government schools. "Why do we give more to private schools? Our children have to work hard; they have to be brought to the same level as private school children," she said. The Books Day initiative, she said, has been started so that children and parents do not face difficulty, as many cannot afford books.

The old problems waiting on her desk

Free kits are not an entirely new idea in J&K. More than 13 lakh government school students were reported in 2025 to be receiving free textbooks and uniforms under the Right to Education Act. The harder test has been getting them to classrooms on time. When the session began on November 1 last year, most institutions were still waiting for fresh textbook supplies. For parents, delivery may matter as much as the announcement.

The private school question has a history too. Greater Kashmir has previously reported repeated complaints about schools prescribing expensive books from private publishers, and the school education directorate in Jammu has earlier told private schools not to compel parents to buy books and uniforms from particular shops. What Firdous has yet to spell out is what her order will contain, whether a price cap, a rule on prescribed publishers or something else, and how it will be enforced.

She also waded into a separate grievance among job seekers. Asked about J&K Bank recruitment, she said it is a matter of regret that the age limit has been kept at 30 years. "They should keep it up to 40 years, because no appointment has taken place for the last 10 years. Keeping that in view, they should reconsider this," she said. Applications for the bank's current Probationary Officer and Banking Associate drive are open until November 26, leaving little time for any rethink to help this round of aspirants.

For a minister new to the job, the promises are easy to make and popular to hear. The order on book prices will be the first real measure of how far she intends to go.