Students protest exam notice, seven hurt
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, March 08 2022: Students of different higher secondary schools carried out protest against the notification of HSE 2022 examination centres while demanding compulsory pass mark to all students considering the inability to attend/conduct normal class due to Covid-19 pandemic.

At least seven students were injured when police fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitating students while 10 students have also been rounded up by police.

Large number of students under the aegis of All Manipur Class 12 Joint Higher Secondary Students 2022 gathered in and around BT Park on Tuesday around 11 am and organised the protest.

They then marched towards Raj Bhavan and CM's bungalow to meet the Governor and the chief minister so as to raise their demand.

Police told the students that the authority concerned is discussing their demand and stopped them from marching ahead.

At about 1 pm, students tried to continue their march up to the office of Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur despite police resistance which resulted in the latter firing tear gas to disperse the students.

The agitated students continued their protest in the surrounding area of the traffic point at the western gate of Kangla causing traffic jam.

Police tried to disperse the students which turned into a scuffle between the two parties.

Some students pelted stones at the police and one policeman was injured.

In response, police fired tear gas shells in which seven students were injured and 10 were arrested.

Later, interacting with media, a student representative said that there was no normal class due to Covid-19 pandemic.

There were physical classes for only two months, that too with two classes in a week.

Online class could not cover all the students due to various reasons and as such the syllabus were not completed during the academic year.

Considering the situation, they submitted memorandum to the Governor, chief minister and departments concerned to grant pass mark to all the students and allow them to compete for additional marks.

They were told to wait till March 7 to get a response to their demand.

In the meantime, the Council issued notification declaring examination centres and it led to their protest.

The students strongly condemned police action against them and also warned of intensifying the agitation if their demands are not met.

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