Month-long protest against disturbances to education begins
By : A Staff Reporter 10/9/2007 1:43:24 AM
IMPHAL, Oct 8: Sit-in protests by students and teachers of private schools in support of the slogan “Make education a free zone, make education a peace zone” kicked off Monday with hundreds of students staging protests in front of their respective schools. The protests will continue for a month.
The slogans and banners at the protest site indicated that the students were protesting against increasing “donation” (monetary demands) from various organizations and disturbance to the academic atmosphere of the schools. However, none of the members of the All Manipur Recognized Private Schools’ Welfare Association, Imphal was available at the protest sites for any comments on the stir.
Slogans like “Let us ‘learn’ during general strike/bandh”, “No donation in schools, no bandhs, blockades, strike, no harassment/no disturbance”, “We want schools to be a free and peace zone”, “Make education a free zone, make education a peace zone” and “Don’t victimize education by donation”, “No donation in schools, allow us to study during bandhs, blockades” etc were displayed on placards held by the students.
The sit-in protests were organized by the All Manipur Recognized Private Schools’ Welfare Association and the students and teachers of the schools.
The teachers participating in the protest said they were protesting against monetary demands served by various students and underground elements and to denounce the disturbance to the school days by general strikes and other forms of agitations which were very frequent in the state.
They also lamented frequent bandhs and blockades in the state disturbing the academic atmosphere of the schools. In the name of donation, many organizations right from students organizations and militant organizations are imposing heavy monetary demands on the private school authorities, the teachers disclosed.
Hundreds of students of different schools located along the Tiddim road like the Bim Higher Secondary School, Vale Academy, Mem Higher Secondary School and HRD took part in the protests suspending their classes for the day along with other schools like Chingmeirong UJB School and GNK English School. Schools at Moirang Lamkhai, Kumbi bazar, Chinglak bazar and Thanga also held protests.
============================
Thadou students issue highway bandh threat
By : A Staff Reporter 10/9/2007 1:28:03 AM
IMPHAL, Oct 8: The Thadou Students’ Association, Sadar Hills Committee has threatened to call a 48-hours bandh along the NH-39 from midnight of October 11 if the state authorities fail to meet their demands by October 10.
The association further threatened to call a economic blockade if the authorities do not respond even after the 48-hours highway bandh.
The president, Lamminlun Singjit , in a statement today said that TSA had submitted a memorandum to the state education minister on September 26 for improvement of insufficient infrastructure, class room, school repairing, construction, insufficient appointment of graduate teachers in the schools located in the “Sardar Hills District”.
Even though deadline set by the association on October 10 is near to expire, the concerned authorities remain silent without positive response till date which will compel the TSA to call NH-39, 48-hours bandh from mid-night of October 11 to mid night of October 13.
The TSA put up the demands in the interest of the students taking that the “most pre-eminent means of delineating children away from the labour market, the statement said adding that any untoward incident occur during the strike hour will be the sole responsibility of the state government.
“Further warn the concern authority that if the government still silent with the imposition of NH-39 bandh TSA will called economic blockade after the 48-hours strike,” the students body warned.
===============================
Desperate Move
The government’s plan to reemploy retired doctors to fill up shortages, especially in the hill districts may be a necessity, but nevertheless a show of desperation as well. It is true the wisdom of experience is hard to come by and priceless in many cases, but in a situation where unemployment is such a huge and alarming problem, we are always suspicious of any idea of superannuation or of extending the retirement age of government employees. But, as we said, this may be an absolute necessity at this moment, regardless of the fact that every year there are at least a few a hundred young and fresh doctors passing out from government subsidised seats in the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, RIMS, as well as from various private colleges in the country and abroad. If this is indeed the case, the government must couple up the present emergent policy with a longer term plan to augment the number of medical students from the state to meet its future needs. We are however convinced that the current shortage is not merely on account of any inadequacy in the number of doctors produced from the state, but is because of certain other less than normal reasons, in particular two, which have become a familiar burden on practically all professions in Manipur. One is the government’s abject failure to rationalise distribution of employees, as also the case of its school teachers. The result is the crowding of government employees in the capital area and a reciprocal deprivation of the services they are meant to render in the remote districts. Two, is the spurt of premature voluntary retirement opted by doctors and other professionals, including doctors, in recent times, and their exodus to other states unable to bear the stresses and strains of extortion demands heaped on them by militants of all hues.
What Manipur is losing from the exodus of experienced doctors, other states are gaining. Our fleeing doctors have for instance been a great help in providing the skills and experience in setting up medical colleges in other states, Tripura to name just one. While philanthropy is an admirable quality, in the case of Manipur, it gets a little painful and ridiculous because this philanthropy is no philanthropy, if not for anything else, then at least because it is resulting in the misery of a skill and brain drain from a place which desperately needs more of these. Again, if such a drain is happening at the top end of the professional hierarchy, another exodus has also become almost a norm at the bottom end. Young talents in practically every field are leaving the state in droves to find suitable jobs in markets that value their skills for their actual worth and not for the bribes they are capable of paying. If the uncertainty of militancy has chased away experienced professionals from the state, the corruption monster has in like manner driven away those who would be the pillars of the future of the place, economically and politically.
However, although it is painful at the moment, it would be to the place’s benefit if all these prodigal sons and daughters return someday or the other with the new knowledge, skills and experience they would have acquired from wherever they are now, but given the economy of the state and the selfishness and greed of our leaders and elites which have virtually let loose anarchy in the state, this is unlikely to happen just as yet. The scenario in Manipur is, to say the least, alarming. Rather than it being a question of philanthropy, it is more a case of acute narcissism, most prominently and relevantly amongst the elite, which have made people see only personal aggrandisement by whatever means as the cherished goal and measure of success. This narcissism also may actually be a “death wish” the effect of which is becoming increasingly apparent, as in the case of the present government’s emergency decision to call back retired doctors. No society which has survived and progressed, were ever so inward looking as Manipur’s elite are at this moment. History also tells us that societies and civilisations that fell and vanished were almost always given to the kind of myopia and narcissism of the kind Manipur is immersed in today.
Imphal Free Press
By : A Staff Reporter 10/9/2007 1:43:24 AM
IMPHAL, Oct 8: Sit-in protests by students and teachers of private schools in support of the slogan “Make education a free zone, make education a peace zone” kicked off Monday with hundreds of students staging protests in front of their respective schools. The protests will continue for a month.
The slogans and banners at the protest site indicated that the students were protesting against increasing “donation” (monetary demands) from various organizations and disturbance to the academic atmosphere of the schools. However, none of the members of the All Manipur Recognized Private Schools’ Welfare Association, Imphal was available at the protest sites for any comments on the stir.
Slogans like “Let us ‘learn’ during general strike/bandh”, “No donation in schools, no bandhs, blockades, strike, no harassment/no disturbance”, “We want schools to be a free and peace zone”, “Make education a free zone, make education a peace zone” and “Don’t victimize education by donation”, “No donation in schools, allow us to study during bandhs, blockades” etc were displayed on placards held by the students.
The sit-in protests were organized by the All Manipur Recognized Private Schools’ Welfare Association and the students and teachers of the schools.
The teachers participating in the protest said they were protesting against monetary demands served by various students and underground elements and to denounce the disturbance to the school days by general strikes and other forms of agitations which were very frequent in the state.
They also lamented frequent bandhs and blockades in the state disturbing the academic atmosphere of the schools. In the name of donation, many organizations right from students organizations and militant organizations are imposing heavy monetary demands on the private school authorities, the teachers disclosed.
Hundreds of students of different schools located along the Tiddim road like the Bim Higher Secondary School, Vale Academy, Mem Higher Secondary School and HRD took part in the protests suspending their classes for the day along with other schools like Chingmeirong UJB School and GNK English School. Schools at Moirang Lamkhai, Kumbi bazar, Chinglak bazar and Thanga also held protests.
============================
Thadou students issue highway bandh threat
By : A Staff Reporter 10/9/2007 1:28:03 AM
IMPHAL, Oct 8: The Thadou Students’ Association, Sadar Hills Committee has threatened to call a 48-hours bandh along the NH-39 from midnight of October 11 if the state authorities fail to meet their demands by October 10.
The association further threatened to call a economic blockade if the authorities do not respond even after the 48-hours highway bandh.
The president, Lamminlun Singjit , in a statement today said that TSA had submitted a memorandum to the state education minister on September 26 for improvement of insufficient infrastructure, class room, school repairing, construction, insufficient appointment of graduate teachers in the schools located in the “Sardar Hills District”.
Even though deadline set by the association on October 10 is near to expire, the concerned authorities remain silent without positive response till date which will compel the TSA to call NH-39, 48-hours bandh from mid-night of October 11 to mid night of October 13.
The TSA put up the demands in the interest of the students taking that the “most pre-eminent means of delineating children away from the labour market, the statement said adding that any untoward incident occur during the strike hour will be the sole responsibility of the state government.
“Further warn the concern authority that if the government still silent with the imposition of NH-39 bandh TSA will called economic blockade after the 48-hours strike,” the students body warned.
===============================
Desperate Move
The government’s plan to reemploy retired doctors to fill up shortages, especially in the hill districts may be a necessity, but nevertheless a show of desperation as well. It is true the wisdom of experience is hard to come by and priceless in many cases, but in a situation where unemployment is such a huge and alarming problem, we are always suspicious of any idea of superannuation or of extending the retirement age of government employees. But, as we said, this may be an absolute necessity at this moment, regardless of the fact that every year there are at least a few a hundred young and fresh doctors passing out from government subsidised seats in the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, RIMS, as well as from various private colleges in the country and abroad. If this is indeed the case, the government must couple up the present emergent policy with a longer term plan to augment the number of medical students from the state to meet its future needs. We are however convinced that the current shortage is not merely on account of any inadequacy in the number of doctors produced from the state, but is because of certain other less than normal reasons, in particular two, which have become a familiar burden on practically all professions in Manipur. One is the government’s abject failure to rationalise distribution of employees, as also the case of its school teachers. The result is the crowding of government employees in the capital area and a reciprocal deprivation of the services they are meant to render in the remote districts. Two, is the spurt of premature voluntary retirement opted by doctors and other professionals, including doctors, in recent times, and their exodus to other states unable to bear the stresses and strains of extortion demands heaped on them by militants of all hues.
What Manipur is losing from the exodus of experienced doctors, other states are gaining. Our fleeing doctors have for instance been a great help in providing the skills and experience in setting up medical colleges in other states, Tripura to name just one. While philanthropy is an admirable quality, in the case of Manipur, it gets a little painful and ridiculous because this philanthropy is no philanthropy, if not for anything else, then at least because it is resulting in the misery of a skill and brain drain from a place which desperately needs more of these. Again, if such a drain is happening at the top end of the professional hierarchy, another exodus has also become almost a norm at the bottom end. Young talents in practically every field are leaving the state in droves to find suitable jobs in markets that value their skills for their actual worth and not for the bribes they are capable of paying. If the uncertainty of militancy has chased away experienced professionals from the state, the corruption monster has in like manner driven away those who would be the pillars of the future of the place, economically and politically.
However, although it is painful at the moment, it would be to the place’s benefit if all these prodigal sons and daughters return someday or the other with the new knowledge, skills and experience they would have acquired from wherever they are now, but given the economy of the state and the selfishness and greed of our leaders and elites which have virtually let loose anarchy in the state, this is unlikely to happen just as yet. The scenario in Manipur is, to say the least, alarming. Rather than it being a question of philanthropy, it is more a case of acute narcissism, most prominently and relevantly amongst the elite, which have made people see only personal aggrandisement by whatever means as the cherished goal and measure of success. This narcissism also may actually be a “death wish” the effect of which is becoming increasingly apparent, as in the case of the present government’s emergency decision to call back retired doctors. No society which has survived and progressed, were ever so inward looking as Manipur’s elite are at this moment. History also tells us that societies and civilisations that fell and vanished were almost always given to the kind of myopia and narcissism of the kind Manipur is immersed in today.
Imphal Free Press
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