Srinagar, Feb 3 (IANS): St. Joseph Higher Secondary School, established in 1903 in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla town, will have to close down due to non-renewal of its land lease agreement.

The Board of School Examinations has refused to register the school’s students for examination this year.

St. Joseph is one of the oldest Christian missionary schools in Kashmir.

The school management said that the land lease agreement of the school expired in 2018 and it had applied for renewal of the lease to the authorities.

“The file is pending in the office of the divisional commissioner (Kashmir) since 2022, and we have also approached the office of the Lt governor in this regard,” management of the school said.

It must be mentioned that the authorities had decided in 2023 to not to register any private school for examinations which was illegally functioning on state land.

Meanwhile, association for private schools has said that if the government continued with its policy of not renewing leases of lands on which educational institutions are functioning, scores of such institutions would face closure, thereby throwing into jeopardy the future of thousands of students of these institutions.