KKL: Remove Chairman of COHSEM immediately
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 07 2021: Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL) urged the State Government to expel Lamabam Mahendra Singh, chairman of Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM) from office immediately and to institute a vigilance inquiry against him for the various wrongdoings he has committed against the interest of the students and the State at large.

Kangleipak Kanba Lup alleged that the State Government and COHSEM have not taken any action against the COHSEM scam by the Chairman and his cohorts.

Recently it was exposed in national and local media how the Chairman had recruited 49 persons against the authorized official recruitment notification of only 19 posts in early 2019 including his daughter who has not reportedly not attended office till date.

Also it was published that the persons employed illegally are near relatives of the office bearers of COHSEM including the legal advisor of the Council, the Lup added.

KKL also stated that various charges have been levied against Mahendra for bribery and subsequent purchase and construction of a house in Kwakeithel area.

Also he purchased answer sheets for the next five years amounting to Rs 1.4 crores approximately against the established norm for an annual placement order and examination forms have been printed and purchased for three years exceeding Rs 15 Lakhs against the norm of yearly basis.

The Lup further alleged that the Chairman had drawn more than Rs 1.5 crores from the Corpus fund of the COHSEM for the construction of an extension of the present Council building where experts have opined that it should not cost more than Rs 75 lakhs.

Coincidentally the construction of his house at Kwakeithel happened at the same time.

Apart from this, it has been brought to the notice of the Lup that Mahendra had invested a huge sum of money with a private housing finance company limited and in real estate business purchasing a huge plot of land in Nongren near Lamlai, it stated.

KKL reiterated that COHSEM does not receive any grant-in-aid from the State Government but is solely managed on revenue generated from subscriptions and fees from students and the educational institutions.

With the implementation of the New Education Policy, responsibilities of the high school students will now be in the hands of COHSEM, the Lup said.

KKL expressed dismay although serious charges have been levied against the Chairman and his associates, there is no rebuttal or contradiction of the same till date.

Therefore it can be considered that he and his party are guilty of the charges.

However the Government and the authorities concerned have paid no heed to such accusations and there is no proper response from their side.

Lastly KKL warned that if their demands are not fulfilled, they may resort to stringent forms of agitations including general strikes.

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