Srinagar, Sept. 22 -- By Hidayat Bukhari

There is an understandable appeal to the idea of a five-day school week in Kashmir.

At a time when children carry heavier academic expectations, move routinely between school and private tuition, and grow up in households increasingly anxious about marks, admissions and careers, giving them two uninterrupted days away from school can sound less like indulgence than common sense.

The argument becomes even more persuasive when one looks abroad: children in many prosperous societies attend school from Monday to Friday, but those countries are hardly accused of taking education lightly.

It is therefore tempting to frame the debate as a choice between an old six-day routine and a more humane, modern...