The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has initiated one of the most far-reaching restructurings of Indian higher education in three decades,introducing multidisciplinary curricula, credit-based mobility, continuous evaluation, and expanded research obligations for faculty. For college teachers in Jammu and Kashmir, these demands are layered onto an already fragile occupational environment shaped by decades of political conflict, intermittent institutional disruption, and limited administrative capacity. This paper critically synthesises the empirical and theoretical literature on work stress, burnout, and coping among college teachers in Kashmir during the ongoing NEP 2020 transition. Using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and the transactional theory of stress and coping as organising frameworks, the review draws on peerreviewed studies published mainly between 2022 and 2025, from India and comparable contexts, to map the specific demands introduced by policy restructuring, the resource deficits that magnify their effect, and the coping repertoires teachers are likely to draw upon. Two synthesis tables consolidate evidence from selected empirical studies on teacher stress, burnout, and coping, and summarise the principal workload-related provisions of NEP 2020 relevant to college faculty. The review argues that the conjunction of policy-driven demands and region-specific structural strain places Kashmiri college teachers at elevated risk of burnout relative to faculty in less disrupted settings, and it proposes a methodologically rigorous empirical design that future researchers can use to test the relationships this review identifies. Implications for institutional policy, faculty development, and workplace wellbeing are discussed.

Dr. Nuzhat Nasreen, "Work Stress, Burnout, and Coping Mechanisms Among College Teachers During Nep 2020 Restructuring in Kashmir" International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Studies, V1(3): Page(139-146) July - August 2026. ISSN: 3139-0854. www.ijhssrs.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.