Revoke order of Dept of Education (S): ATSUM, KSO-GHQ and ANSAM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 26 2020: The All Tribal Students' Union Manipur (ATSUM), Kuki Students' Organisation (KSO-GHQ) and All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANSAM) have expressed discontentment towards the State Government's for allegedly ignoring a 'reasonable and genuine' appeal of tribal student bodies to frame a suitable policy for providing financial grant to the private schools to mitigate the hardship of all stakeholders during this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

In a joint statement, the three students' bodies stated that like other establishments, private schools in the State are also adversely affected by the continuing lockdown and upsurging of COVID-19 case in the country.

Saying that they have apprised the Government to ensure waiving of students' tuition fee and payment of teaching and non-teaching staffs' salaries from the financial grant to continue the learning process during the lockdown and post lockdown, it added that the Education Department (Schools), on the contrary, issued an order on June 20, imposing the private schools with an enrolment of students below 200 to waive students' tuition fee and pay 50% of teaching and non-teaching staffs salaries and enrolment of students' above 700 to waive students' tuition fee and pay 100% of teaching and non-teaching staffs salaries of their respective schools.

The order does not equally consider the interest of the three prime stakeholders, the parents, teachers and school authorities as it gives 100% weightage to the interest of the two prime stakeholders, the parents and teachers but gives 0% weightage to the prime stakeholder, the school authority, upon whom the former two prime stakeholders are dependent, the statement continued.

Lamenting that it will be unjust to step-motherly treat the private schools at this crucial time when every individual and sector are socially and economically hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic, the three students' bodies suggested that now is the time to pay back and say thank you to private schools as they are the backbone of education in the State.

It also said that Manipur stands top in the enrolment of students in private school when compared to neighbouring states as well as when compared to all India average as per Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2018.The State Govt of Manipur must also note that the situation in the hills and the valley is different, continued the statement and opined that taking into account of few well-established private schools and issuing the order for compliance of all the school in State will be impossible to implement in most of the schools especially in the hill districts.

The three apex tribal student bodies further appealed to the State Government to revoke the order of Department of Education (Schools) at the earliest and assist the private schools in the State so that they can pay off the teaching and non-teaching staff salaries and at the same time waive the student tuition fee in the interest of all.

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