Imphal, July 15 2010: The Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) has demanded that Education Minister L Jayantakumar resign from Ministership owning moral responsibility for the controversy surrounding selection of Primary School teachers.

Reacting to the SPF Government's decision to order investigation into the unofficial declaration of DPC results for induction as Primary Teachers in a local daily, the student body asserted that the probe would be irrelevant if Jayantakumar remains as the Education Minister.

Serving an ultimatum, a DESAM statement issued today said in case the Minister does not step down on his own volition the Chief Minister needs to intervene and ask Jayantakumar to relinquish his post till the time the investigation is completed and the findings made public.

Contending that DESAM possesses enough evidence that the recruitment procedure had violated prescribed norms, the statement issued by its publicity and propaganda secretary L Bobishana said many candidates who failed in the written test have been included in the DPC passed list published by the daily.

Alleging that the 'selection list' was prepared due to pressure from the Minister concerned and had accommodated choices of some Ministers, MLAs and influential officials/individuals, Bobishana opined that making the Director and Additional Director scapegoats of the sordid episode while the Education Minister remains unscathed would render the investigation a futile exercise.

On the recruitment exercise, DESAM posed how some of the candidates who failed in the written test, result of which was declared on April 17 (2007), were allowed to take part in the viva voce for selection of primary teachers conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur.

Moreover, certain individuals who never appeared in the viva voce were found included when the result was published in the daily in its June 24 edition, contended the student body and insisted that preparation of the merit list would be possible only with knowledge and involvement of the Education Minister.

Reflecting on the comment of the minister that the DPC result was withheld as declaring the same would have violated election code of conducted (ADC elections), DESAM demanded an explanation as to why result of District Council primary teachers had been declared ahead of the District Council elections inspite of the fact that recruitment exercise for the same was held in 2009 .

Accusing some MLAs/Ministers of involvement in the controversial preparation of the DPC result, dESAM opined that demands of certain opposition legislators that the said result be declared null and void might be because some of their recommendations were not entertained. Bobishana also asserted that deferment of the DPC result is an outcome of intense pressure piled on the Chief Minister and Education Minister by both ruling and opposition MLAs to include their choices which only demonstrate that irregularities strive in the system as the opposition MLAs rather than expose corruption of the SPF Govt remain satisfied as long as their recommendations are entertained.

Claiming that information has been received with regard to telephone calls from Education Dept officials and others on whether certain candidates were included in the list apart from seeking photo-copies of the result sheet, DESAM construed that such intimations/enquiries clearly suggest involvement of officials and Ministers, MLAs and influential individuals.

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