Srinagar, Feb. 16 -- Over 80% of the lecturer posts sanctioned for teaching Kashmiri language in the schools of the valley are lying vacant even years after the native language was introduced as a subject in the schools across Kashmir.

Data presented in the J&K assembly by the government revealed that only five lecturers of school education department are teaching Kashmiri in various schools of south, central and north Kashmir particularly after the language was initially introduced as a full fledged subject in early 2000 up to middle level and for classes 9-10 from 2019 onwards.

In response to a question of Srinagar legislator Mubarak Gul, the in-charge minister of school education department revealed that there was a sanctioned streng...