MU admission row over ST quota ATSUM to spell out stir agenda tomorrow
Source: The Sangai Express

Kangpokpi, September 16 2017: Following the alleged failure of Manipur University authority to fulfil their assurance given on August 31 over the reservation issue, the All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (ATSUM) has decided to launch an extreme form of agitation .

Earlier, the student body had suspended its 48 hours ultimatum over the issue following the assurance of the Vice Chancellor and Heads of Departments in its joint meeting held on August 31 at the Vice Chancellor’s official chamber .

ATSUM and Manipur University Tribal Students' Union (MUTSU) have been demanding 31 pc reservations for ST students in admission to various courses in the university and asking the MU authority to follow the High Court directives and the Central Educational Institution Reservation Act, 2012 in the admission process .

Vice Chancellor of the varsity, Prof Adya Prasad Pandey had promised to fulfil the tribal students' demands and also assured to strictly follow the High Court directives and Central Educational Institution Reservation Act, 2012 rules from the next session during the August 31 meeting to the student body representatives .

Seiboi Haokip, general secretary, ATSUM while speaking to media persons this afternoon at Kangpokpi DHQs said that keeping faith once again on the MU authority, the student body had suspended its 48 hours ultimatum on August 31 following the assurance of the authority concerned .

"However, it (the August 31 meeting and assurance of the MU authority) have remained just words", said a visibly disappointed Seiboi who asserted that the repeated duplicity of the MU authority is no longer tolerable .

He continued, "we have now decided to take the extreme form of agitation if MU fails to convert its assurances into action within a short period.

The MU authority has deliberately violated the rights of the tribal students for the past many years."
On the mode of agitation, Seiboi Haokip said that it will be made known to the public after due consultation with its units and hill districts based civil society organizations on Monday .

He also recalled that ATSUM had demanded the MU authority to put in abeyance the admission process until such time and the results declared for the academic season 2017-2018 are rectified to stick to the guidelines and reservation norms of the Government .

He further recalled that despite the MoU signed between ATSUM and MU authority on November 7, 2016 where both parties agreed to adhere to the Central Education Institution (Reservation in Admission) Act, the recently announced admission lists in the various departmental entrance test results explicitly indicates that most of the departments have overtly defied the Central Act as well as failed to honour the spirit of the MoU .

He reminded the intense agitation launched by the tribal student organizations under the banner of ATSUM last year which dragged on for months leading to loss of many academic days for the students all due to the recalcitrance of Manipur University authority .

The ATSUM leader expressed the student body's displeasure with the State Government for keeping mum on the issue till today .

ATSUM also warned that Manipur University authority shall solely be held responsible for all the loss of academic days and any other consequences in the event of an agitation.

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