Ban to be enforced from '08
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 07:
Taking serious note of the alleged lackadaisical and insincere attitude of the State Government in teaching Meitei Mayek from classes I to III, the proscribed KYKL has banned books written in Bengali script in all Government and private schools including central schools located in the four valley districts from Class I to IV with effect from the next academic session (2008).A statement issued by the outfit's ONK Special Task Force commander Major Wangba Khumancha asserted that only books in Meitei Mayek should be taught in these classes.
However, Meitei Mayek text books may remain additional subjects in schools located in hill districts and there will be no restriction in teaching text books in Bengali script.
Students of classes I to III learning Meitei Mayek in the current academic session shall adopt the indigenous script as their medium of study till the stage of Masters Degree.
The KYKL will not tolerate any school or institution teaching text books written in Bengali script, it warned.
No board or council or private press should commit the blunder of publishing Bengali text books for these students to study in their next classes.
Even if the text books are published already, students should not be asked to bring these text books to school.
In case any private/Government school is found teaching text books written in Bengali script in the above mentioned classes I to III, the school will be closed without any warning and necessary action will be taken up to make the school de-recognised.
The erring Headmasters/Headmistresses will be punished even to the extent of shooting them, the outfit warned.
No school in the valley should abstain from teaching Meitei Mayek on the pretext that there is no teacher or the existing teachers are not Meitei Mayek literate.
The school authorities should hire Meitei Mayek teachers or the existing teachers should learn the indigenous script at their own expense so that they can teach their subjects.
No school should wait for Government order, Wangba said.
Under the most simple logic, the Meiteis should learn the Meitei Mayek in the first place after which Meiteis settling in Cachar, Tripura, Bangladesh etc should follow.
Being the script of the mother tongue, learning Meitei Mayek is no big task.
One can become literate in the indigenous script within a month by learning a letter every day.
The State Government will not pay any attention in the proposal to make the people of the land Meitei Mayek literate as New Delhi does not favour development of the indigenous script, alleged the outfit.
Alleging that the State Government and the political class have no concern for the future of the State, KYKL sought support from the people to make its initiative for replacement of Bengali script with Meitei Mayek a success.