By Dr. Rameez Ahmad

I still remember the moment clearly.

During the 2023-24 academic session, I was travelling with two colleagues from another department. They were casually comparing how many days of examination duty each had received. Seniority, they said, explained the difference.

I listened for a while and then said, half joking, that I had not received even a single day.

The reason was simple. I belonged to a different discipline.

The conversation moved on, but that small exchange stayed with me. It captured, in a silent way, how things often work inside the IGNOU system in Kashmir.

Opportunity does not always follow merit or rules. It often follows familiarity.

I have always seen IGNOU as an educational lifeline in a valley shaped by discord, distance and distress. It is the only realistic way into higher education for many students. But for educators like me, it offers a chance to remain part of academic life.

In such a setting, fairness is the foundation of trust.

But my experience within the system shows a growing gap between principle and practice.

Officially, counselling classes, assignment evaluation and examination duties are to be distributed transparently. But........

© Kashmir Observer