Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 20:
All Colleges Tribal Students� Organisation, Manipur (ACTSOM) has demanded for a separate autonomous hill university for the development of backward tribal students in the State.
In a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on November 16, ACTSOM lamented by pointing out there is no modern infrastructures of any high importance especially related to higher education in the hill areas of Manipur.
Even after 55 years of Independence, the tribal students and scholars in the neglected hill areas of Manipur have never ever had proper and adequate educational facilities and infrastructures as laid down in the Constitution of India, the memorandum rued.
The most unfortunate fact of the matter is that not even 30 percent of the allotted fund earmarked for maintenance of educational institutions for the poor tribal students has been ever fully released or properly utilised by the State Government, the memorandum charged.
The memorandum further charged that most of the fund allotted for the tribal students have been regularly diverted towards maintenance of educational institutions in valley area while the rest are brazenly embezzled by Ministers and officers of Tribal Development Department.
Hence there is no chance for any tribal students for development in the hill area.
The memorandum point-ed out that out of the 30 private colleges recognised by the University of Manipur, there are only 11 such colleges in the tribal dominated hill area which covered 3/4th of the State�s geographical area.
Whereas out of the 28 Government- run colleges under MU, there are just 7 in the hill areas.
Non-existence or setting up of grant-in-aid colleges in the hill areas in comparison to no less than six grant-in-aid colleges in the valley shows evidence of partiality, negligence and manipulation of education system in the State.
Besides, out of the seven recognised higher secondary schools in the valley area, there is just one higher secondary school which is also run by the Tribal Church Fraternity without any regular assistance from the Government of Manipur, the memorandum stated.