Prepare students for post Covid era: MSF
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 04 2020: Stating that the post Covid period or the new normal will demand totally different lifeskills, the Manipuri Students Federation said that this is where education becomes important. How to cope with the new challenges in the post Covid period should then be the primary objective of the people and the Government and this is where the a State Education Policy is highly needed to train the youngsters to face the new world order, added the student body in a statement.

The Covid pandemic has hit every aspect of life, said MSF and added that the current modern education system will not exactly be suited to the soil of Manipur and that is why there is the need to formulate a specific education policy suited to the need of the land and the people.

It is towards this end that the MSF has been trying to enlighten everyone on the motto Learn, Excel and Transmit under its objective of Let us Learn Well (Eikhoi Lairik Ningthina Tamshi).

The pandemic has affected everyone particularly health, economy, agriculture, and the education sector, said MSF and added that these four sectors will determine how a society stands in the post Covid era.

When highly developed countries of Europe, China and the USA are hit hard by the pandemic, then Manipur will surely need to put its best foot forward and this is something where everyone will need to apply their minds to, said the student body.

As a student body, the MSF will concentrate on the education sector ahead of the post Covid era, said the statement and added that the education need to keep up with the time.

The present arrangement that passes off as education in Manipur does not suit the demands of the time, added the student body.

In the absence of any concrete education policy from the State Government, education is getting increasingly privatised, said MSF and added that it has today become a profit oriented business venture.

According to a report in the Annual Survey on Education Report (ASER), 2020, Manipur has one of the highest number of students in private educational institutions.

In short 80 percent of the students are today studying in private schools.

This is a clear indication that the Government of Manipur has failed to dispense its duty, it said and added that parents and elders are subjected to intense pressure to send their children to private institutions.

Many parents are unable to meet the financial demands of private institutions and this results in the increasing number of school drop outs, said MSF.

Such a trend is responsible for the rising crime graph, said the student body and added that there are also cases of class differentiation between the students studying in private institutions and Government institutions.

It is important that the Government cracks the whip and make all private schools fall in line with the Manipur Private School (Registration and Regulations) Act, 2017 and its different sections such as Sec 12(2)9(d), Sec 4(2)(f) and forbid private schools from charging exorbitant fees.

A uniform fee structure of private institutions is also needed, suggested MSF.

In States like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh etc more and more students have now taken admission in Government schools because parents would not be in a position to send their wards to private schools in the post Covid era, added MSF.

The Government of Manipur ought to learn a lesson from Delhi, where Government schools are doing well with many students from there coming out tops in competitive exams, said MSF.

MSF also said that the New Education Policy may dilute the autonomy given to States and it may go against the idea of Federalism.

Questions have also been raised on whether the new policy dilutes the understanding of regionalism.

The student body added that a high level committee/commission may be formed and opinions of teachers, parents and organisations working for the welfare of the student community may be invited.

To prepare the young students for the post-Covid era, it is important to ensure that the 60 Government schools drawn from different Assembly Constituencies and which have been included in the first phase of 'School Fagathanshi' Mission is successful, added MSF.

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