Army’s Northern Command remains committed to nation building, ensuring peace in J&K: Lt Gen Sharma

Srinagar, Sept 11 (IANS) Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Army’s Udhampur headquartered Northern Command, said on Friday that the Army is committed to nation building while ensuring peace and tranquility in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing the 10 years’ celebration at Army Goodwill School (AGS) in Pahalgam, Lieutenant General Sharma said, “As we march towards Viksit Bharat, Northern Command will continue to remain committed to nation-building while ensuring peace and tranquillity.”

He added that the commitment is towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir, saying: “Your peace is our purpose, your aspirations are our missions, and your success is our pride.”

The Army Commander also lauded the students for their achievements, crediting their success to the guidance of their parents and the quality education provided by their teachers.

He said the Army goodwill school Wuzur secured third position and AGS Uri sixth position nationally in Young Scientist India 2025, while AGS Wuzur recently secured a place among the top 10 schools in the Innovation category.

The Army runs 43 goodwill schools in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh under ‘Operation Sadbhavana’ providing high quality affordable education to 17,000 students.

The network includes 28 goodwill schools in Valley, eight in Jammu division and seven in Ladakh region.

Forty per cent of the 17,000 students in these schools are girls while 1,000 teachers are provided employment in these schools.

These schools are backed by the Army Goodwill Schools portal and long-term partners like the Bharti Airtel Foundation focusing on teacher training and digital learning.

Modern facilities in these schools include 100 per cent smart classrooms, science labs and tech infrastructure.

Skill development at these schools are based on early exposure to AI, robotics, and innovation clubs that have led to student projects in national forums like ISRO YUVIKA.

The curriculum is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, following Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education/Central Board of Secondary Education and NCERT standards.

There is strong emphasis on sports, national integration tours, and values-based character building in the Army goodwill schools.

–IANS

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