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 Jammu and Kashmir assembly by the government revealed that only five lecturers of school education department are teaching Kashmiri invarious schools of south, central and north Kashmir particularly after the languagewas 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 strength of 27 lecturers in various higher secondary schools of the Kashmir division of which only five are in position. "The Kashmiri language is presently not taught as a subject in the schools of the Jammu division," the response said. Majority of the population speaks Kashmiri in the Himalayan valley but, according to academics, a small percentage of that can read and write the language fluently. People prefer raising their children to learn Urdu and English as their first language owing to the perception of them being "elite" languages as upper and middle class converse in them. The language was introduced in primary and middle government schools in early 2000 onwards as a subject and at Class 9 and 10 level from 2018-19, though it was already being taught at higher secondary level at that time. Off late, the language has also been introduced in the private schools of the valley. While the sanctioned strength (of lecturers) was 11 before 2009, it increased to 27 in 2019. The government response revealed 22 vacancies of Kashmiri lecturers were spread across nine districts of the valley. Of the five posts sanctioned in Kupwara district, all are vacant. Similarly of the two vacancies each in Baramulla, Ganderbal and Pulwama, no post has been fulfilled. Three of the four posts sanctioned each in Anantnag and Budgam are vacant while there is vacancy of two in Bandipora, two in Kulgam and one in Shopian. The vacancy remains even as the Union government in 2020, passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill which included Kashmiri in the list of official languages of the Union Territory. The government said that the efforts were underway for promotion and implementation of Kashmiri language in accordance with national education policy 2020. "The implementation of the Kashmiri language in accordance with NEP-2020 is being carried out at the chief education officer level under the overall supervision of the directorate of school education, Kashmir to ensure systematic implementation in schools."...