School building collapses; students rally for 'education free zone'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 23: Thousands of students from different parts of the State took out a rally here today raising demand for making education a free zone and allowing them to study even on the day of bandh and general strike.

Construction materials pile up after the school building collapse

The clarion call and sentiment attached to the rally was ironically shattered as it was staged in the back-drop of a school building collapsing thereby raising posers on the level of construction standard.

Following the collapse, construction work of the LP School located at Khagempalli Pankha has been put on hold by the MSF indefinitely.

two pillars of the incomplete building caved in last night.

A team of MSF volunteers led by its vice-president and media persons who visited the site today were told that school building is being constructed by one contractor named Tairen.

Headmistress of the LP School, however, denied any knowledge about the new building being constructed or the contractor.

The media team and the MSF volunteers were told by the local people that construction of the new building began this month.

Conveying deep concern at the break down of the newly constructed pillars considering the possibility of causing casualties by such mishap, the local people insisted on maintaining proper quality while constructing school buildings.

Meanwhile, the students' rally organised under the aegis of Committee for Peaceful and Progressive Education, students and their teachers from around 150 schools located in different parts of the State was flagged off from the ground of Young Learners' Club at Chingamathak.

The Committee for Peaceful and Progressive Education is a joint body of All Manipur Recognised Pvt School Welfare Assn (AMRPSWA) and Manipur Educational Development Research Assn (MEDRA).

The Committee has around 210 members so far.

After hitting the Mayai Lambi, the rallyists marched toward the north till THAU ground at Thangmeiband where a meeting was held.

The meeting proceeded with president of AMRPSWA Hemam Bira Singh, MEDRA president Jayanta Singh, MU's Prof N Joykumar and social activist Oinam Nabakumar taking the dais as presidium members.

Speaking at the occasion, former secretary of the private schools' association Doren Khanganba said the rally and the public meeting was being organised to take the opportunity of arriving at a joint decision toward making education a free zone.

The existing condition of the Government schools and colleges in the State today is in a pitiable state.

If one has to talk of education in the State today, it is what is being imparted in the private school.

However, taking advantage of the situation, some of the private schools are running with the main objective of earning profits.

Right from purchasing the uniforms of the students to exercise books and bags printed with the name of the schools concerned to the fixing the amount of the tuition or admission fee, school authorities are doing what ever they want.

While appealing to all the civil organisations and student bodies to find out whether the fee or admission amount being charged from the students commensurate with the facilities being provided to the students or not, he also advocated that education should be regarded as one of the essential services and exempt it from the purview of the frequent bandhs, blockades and general strike being called in the State.

Among others, some of the resolutions adopted during the meeting include to ensure the rights to education of the students and allow them to study even there is outbreak of war and make education a free zone.