The schools in Manipur reopened today (10 August) following a two-month break. They were closed as a result of the ethnic violence that dwelled there since 3 May. However, pupils in classes 9 through 12 would be able to attend school from today. The state would resume classes for other grades only conditional on the circumstances.
Director L Nandakumar Singh of the Directorate of Education (Schools) informed, “All Zonal Education Officers under the Department of Education, Schools Manipur are hereby directed to inform all concerned and take up necessary actions accordingly. A separate order for the resumption of these schools will be issued later. Adequate compulsory measures will be taken up for the students of these schools so as to prevent any learning loss.”
There are 1229 schools in the northeastern state with classes from 9 to 12 that are overseen by various managements. The institutions that are being used as accommodation for the central forces and relief camps won’t be subjected to the recent directive. There are at present 4747 school children living in these facilities which are around 100 in number, ranging in age from pre-primary to class XII. A separate instruction would soon be issued for them.
Manipur has a total of 4,617 schools and about 6,000 students of various standards are displaced due to unrest that started two months prior there. The Directorate of Education had intended to re-start courses for all of the state’s schools on 21 June but delayed it until 1 July. Eventually, on 5 July, schools for grades I to VIII for over 4,521 pupils resumed across the state.
Notably, the students took their summer holiday from 4 May to 30 May. In light of Manipur’s law and order, subsequent instructions were issued and the vacation was prolonged after the chaos persisted. The summer vacation of all schools which was preponed from 15 May was last extended till 19 June. The pupils who had been uprooted due to the conflict were given free entrance to adjacent schools.
The violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the northeastern state has already resulted in more than 100 fatalities and thousands of displaced residents. The first clashes occurred on 3 May following a “Tribal Solidarity March” organised by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in the hill areas to oppose the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Tensions rose in April as a result of a Manipur High Court decision ordering the state administration to make a decision regarding the Scheduled Tribe status issue. Manipur has been boiling and various acts of violence have been reported from the state in the past few months because of the ethnic strife.
