Srinagar, Sep 23 (KNS): Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday called for taking the ALOHA mental arithmetic programme to government schools across Jammu and Kashmir, saying children across the education system should get a level playing field and be equipped with skills to compete nationally and internationally.

Addressing the award ceremony of the ALOHA National Level Competition-2026 Kashmir at the SKICC here, Omar said education and health remained the two foremost responsibilities of the government and stressed the need for sustained investment in both sectors for the overall development of the region.

"Education is the foundation of everything. Without education, what can we achieve? Education and health: without these two things, there is no point in getting anything else," the chief minister said.

Omar said the government was focusing on improving the education system to better prepare children for the challenges of a rapidly changing world. He stressed the need to incorporate emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, into the curriculum and equip students with knowledge and skills required for the future.

Highlighting the issue of student retention, he said Jammu and Kashmir performed well at the primary and middle-school levels compared to the national scenario, but the retention rate declined significantly as students progressed to higher classes.

The chief minister said secondary schools needed to take concrete steps to bring down the dropout rate and stressed the need for concerted efforts to ensure children remained within the education system through the higher secondary level.

He also called for greater cooperation between government and private schools, saying the two systems should work together rather than view each other as competitors.

"Children studying in both government and private schools are equally the future of Jammu and Kashmir," Omar said, calling for policies that enable private educational institutions to contribute effectively to the education ecosystem.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

Referring to the legislation on private universities enacted this year, Omar said the initiative was aimed at creating opportunities within Jammu and Kashmir so that students would not have to leave the region in search of quality private higher education.

The chief minister appreciated the enthusiasm and performance of participating students at the event, which witnessed participation from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir, other parts of the country and abroad.

He said the participation of students from Kerala, Karnataka and Rajasthan, along with international participants, in the competition in Srinagar was a positive indication of the growing educational and cultural connect with Jammu and Kashmir.

Omar also appreciated the mental arithmetic abilities demonstrated by the young participants and said their achievements were a credit to their parents, teachers and ALOHA International.

Congratulating all participants, he said participation itself was an achievement.

"You are all winners. Whether you took back a trophy from here or not, just being here and being able to compete is a victory and is a win," he said.

Omar said the government would explore taking the ALOHA programme forward in government schools to provide students wider access to such learning opportunities.

"This is something that we need to incorporate into the government school system as well, so that we give our children a level playing field," he said, adding that efforts would be made to expand the ALOHA family in Jammu and Kashmir.

Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, Director School Education Kashmir Naseer Ahmed Wani, Founder and President of ALOHA Loh Mun Sung, Director International ALOHA Kiran Motwani, MD ALOHA J&K Mubashir Wafai, besides teachers, students and parents, were present on the occasion.(KNS)