CM vows safeguard of indigenous communities
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR

Imphal, November 06 2024: Asserting that the state government will not compromise its policies in the name of bringing peace by accommodating outsiders, chief minister N Biren has stated that protection of the indigenous communities remains top priority of his government.

Speaking at the launch of the 'Chief Minister Coaching Scheme for Entrance Examination to Professional Courses', an initiative of the Department of Education (S), at the Durbar Hall of the CM's Secretariat here on Wednesday, Biren assured the gathering of an end to the ongoing crisis, stating that peace would definitely be restored in the state.

He, nevertheless, remarked that the government will not allow Manipur reduced to a dumping ground for outsiders under the guise of peace.

"For this, the people would have to suffer a bit temporarily," he conceded.

He also observed that Thadou is one of the oldest tribes in Manipur, and commended the community for declaring its support for NRC and War on Drugs campaign after a two-day meeting in Guwahati recently.

At a convention in Guwahati last week, the Thadou tribe pledged its support for NRC and also backed the state government's 'war on drugs' .

At the convention, the Thadou community asserted that "it is a distinct ethnic group of people, with own distinct language, culture, traditions and great history and Thadou is not Kuki, or underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki, but a separate, independent entity from Kuki" .

The chief minister affirmed: "We cannot compromise on our policies in the name of peace.

Under the guise of inclusiveness, we cannot accommodate every outsider.

We must protect the distinctiveness of our indigenous communities and the rights of old settlers.

We have faced numerous challenges because of this objective.

We should also not forget that we are Indians" .

On the development front, Biren stated that the government has launched various schemes and projects to help the students and secure the future generation by building infrastructures in the education sector, under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He maintained that an initiative was taken up by the state government to help the civil service aspirants by providing scholarships for undergoing coaching classes to prepare for civil services examinations.

He added that students who had undergone coaching class would find it easy to crack other competitive exams, even if they could not taste success in civil services examination.

Regarding launch of the new scheme, the CM mentioned that the coaching classes will be conducted in online mode, which would be a two-way interactive manner.

He continued that the Department of Education (S), will sponsor the full course fee for the selected students under the scheme.

Advising the selected students to study hard to crack the entrance examination after the coaching class, he announced that the government would bear all the expenses for those students who have cracked the JEE or NEET in their further studies.

Mentioning that 120 schools have been covered under the School Fagathansi Mission till now, the CM informed that another 120 schools would be covered, making the total number of schools covered as 240.Also, under College Fagathansi Mission, the state government has taken up initiatives to ensure availability of all the basic requirements for imparting quality higher education in the government colleges of Manipur.

Teachers have been provided training to transform the education system in the State under STAR Education programme, he added.

A book named "Know Manipur" will be published very soon to help equip the young minds with the general knowledge of Manipur, he disclosed, adding that a syllabus committee has been formed to rectify the syllabus with regard to history and origins.

Biren further advised the director of Education (S) to organise a tree plantation programme for the selected students of coaching classes under the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign.

Taking the opportunity of the launch programme, the chief minister mentioned about the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme - Pilot Project offering internship opportunities to 1.25 lakh young people across the Nation.

He informed that 76 internship slots are available for Manipur and asked youth of the state to avail the opportunity.

The internship duration would be 12 months out of which six months would be hands-on experience.

Financial support of Rs 5000 as monthly allowance (Rs 4500 from the Ministry and Rs 500 from CSR) will be provided, he elaborated.

While sharing that if there is ample education and knowledge, there would be no place for misunderstandings to occur, Biren called upon the people to contribute their mite in defending unity and oneness of the country, while understanding the rights enshrined in Constitution in detail so as to avoid any quarrels over the same.

On the occasion, two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were signed between the government of Manipur and the two partnering coaching institutes for the said scheme.

On behalf of the government, Education (S) director L Nandakumar signed the MoU with Aakash Educational Services Ltd and FIIT JEE Ltd represented by deputy national academics director Dr Sarvesh Chaubey, and national head (Admissions) Samir Kumar respectively.

The CM also distributed tablets to 63 select students, including 33 for NEET and 30 for JEE, so as to enable them attend the online classes with convenience.

The programme was attended by ministers, MLAs, chief secretary, representatives of Aakash Educational Services Ltd and FIIT JEE Ltd, officials and staff of the Education (s) department and select students among others.

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