The present trend of the engagement of the surrogate teachers in the sub-division of Tamei
- Part 1 -

Aliulakliu Niumei *

A view of Tamei and Tousem Sub Division in Tamenglong District in February 2013 :: Pix - Ibomcha Yumnam

Introduction

Education in Tamei Sub-Division of Tamenglong

The state of Manipur splits up naturally into two tracts viz. the hills and the plains. The hills comprise of five districts in which Tamenglong is one of these districts. Tamenglong district is further divided into four sub-divisions namely (i) Tamei (ii) Tousem (iii) Tamenglong and (iv) Nungba. In Tamenglong itself the total population is 1,40,143 constituting as the least populated district in Manipur as per 2011 census. Out of this 85,969 are literate accounting to 70.40% and it ranked 7th amongst districts of Manipur. Taking 2011 as the base year, it is apparent that the literacy rate of female is about 63.76 and 76.74 of males although there has been notable progress.

Tamei Sub-Division lying in the North bordering Nagaland which covers an area of 1078 km with a population of 21,829 persons as per 2001 census; nearly 99% of the total populations are Tribal, being it is a tribal core-area. This is a core area of Nagas especially the Liangmai dialect groups are found as majority tribe.

In the case of education in Tamei, it is worse than the TD-Block of Tamenglong. There are all together 202 Primary Schools in Tamenglong District. Out of these schools, 164 schools are under the Autonomous District Council (ADC) Tamenglong including 1228 teaching staff and the remaining schools are under the education (ZEO) Tamenglong. In order to ensure the smooth functioning of education system, the schools are being administered by 5 DIs and 25 AIs. According to the availability of all these schools, no younger generation should be left uneducated but still we could find the morass of the education. v School can offer children a safe environment in which to grow, even if their world beyond the school walls is less than stable. Primary education provides children with skills and stimulation that can help them cope with their individual circumstances, according to UNICEF, which tried to spread the opportunity which can help in developing or struggling the state to build a better future.

A brief profile of the people of Tamei Sub-Division of Tamenglong :

The population of Tamei sub-division is 21,829 out of the total population of 1,40,143 of Tamenglong District. The area is mostly inhabitated by the Liangmai and the Rongmei which belong to the Naga tribes of Manipur including the Kuki and the Nepalese.

Language:

Regarding language, mostly these people speak Liangmai as well as Rongmei dialects. Only a few people could speak Hindi, English, Manipuri etc. The Zeliangrong dialect has recently been recognized by the government of Manipur as one of the major tribal dialects for introduction in educational institutions in Manipur at primary school stage. Generally, accent plays a very significant role in Rongmei language as the same words give different meanings according to the accent which is pronounced.

Occupation:

Agriculture being the main occupation of the people of Tamei, it has an important place in the economy of these people. Despite the crucial importance of the primary sector in the state's economy, the irregular and erratic behaviour of monsoon accompanied inadequate irrigation facilities have resulted in severe fluctuations in Agricultural production.

Jhuming or shifting cultivation is also practiced in terraced slopes. Three methods of cultivation mostly practiced in Tamei are jhumming, terracing and wet cultivation. Rice is the main crop but other vegetables like chilly, ginger, pumpkin, corn, maize, mushroom and banana are also grown in plenty. Lemon, orange, guava are the main fruits of this region. The big Barak River is in Tamei which flows into the Brahmaputra of Assam and into the Bay of Bengal. So, fishing is the main occupation of those villagers nearby.

Economic Structures:

As already mentioned above agriculture in the state becomes a living proposition rather than a commercial proposition. According to the Tribal Bench Mark Survey of 1982, 92 percent of the total families are cultivators of which 72 percent are engaged in jhum cultivation in Tamenglong District. But the people of Tamei sub-division are known for their artistic bamboo and cane work; household industries including weaving, wood works, wine brewing, basket making and others. Handicrafts are also done.

Political Organization:

The Village is completely autonomous usually governed by a chief or headman and a village authority of the village. The village authority enjoys considerable amount of powers in which a village was a miniature republic, and it has a village authority members representing the various clans or families which run the affairs of village. The village authority is invested with legislative, executive and judicial powers. It settles all the major disputes in the village and is responsible for effective decision making taken by the village authority and it is strictly enforced observance of village laws and taboos.

Human resource:

There has been all along mismanagement of human resources in the hill area, the fact is that only agriculture pursuit is considered as the only main occupation for all.

All manpower at their disposal are put together without questioning about talents, aptitude and interest of the family members, and trades of the rest like industries, animal husbandry, horticulture etc. are considered as ancillary jobs only. In the field of work training as such is never given only those who are gifted spontaneously coming up by themselves.

Now thanks to the introduction of modern education in the hills, in which generation gap occurs to them. The new generation does not care to pursue the same traditional profession and they have been to a great extent awakened to the need of education. Only the elder section of the people is left in the paddy field. Hence, the hill area, economy is in deep recession.



To be continued ...