The teaching fraternity in Jammu and Kashmir [Images] pledged on Monday to make all educational institutions in the state no-smoking zones.

Cigarette smoking on school premises would be prohibited and the ban strictly implemented, the teaching fraternity pledged before Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at a function organised at Tagore Hall in Srinagar [Images] to commemorate Teachers' Day yesterday.

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Addressing the teachers, Sayeed asked them to involve parents and society in the school management to supplement the government's efforts for the development of educational infrastructure in villages.

He said the government has already formed a village education committee that assists in the development of educational infrastructure in the state.

To meet with the current educational demand, the government has taken several steps, including lowering the registration age to four and has introduced English as a compulsory subject from the first primary, the chief minister said..