Manipur violence affects studies of thousands, including medical students

 

Imphal: The devastating ethnic violence in Manipur has badly affected the studies of the students of various standards and resumption of their normal learning is still uncertain.

Over 65,000 men, women and children were displaced in the ethnic violence and took shelter in 350 relief camps in various districts of Manipur and neighbouring Mizoram, Nagaland and Assam.

According to the latest information, over 12,100 people took shelter in Mizoram, around 2,000 in Nagaland and over 1200 in Cachar district of southern Assam.

Mizoram’s Kolasib district along Assam hosts the largest number of 4,400 displaced people, followed by Aizawl and Saitual districts with around 4,000 and 3,000 respectively.

While 9,065 displaced people are staying with their relatives and friends or live in rented houses across the state, over 3,000 people are lodged in 35 relief camps in Mizoram’s 11 districts.

Of the over 12,100 people who took shelter in Mizoram, over 1,500 displaced students of Manipur have already been admitted to schools in Mizoram.

Manipur’s Director of Education (School) L. Nandakumar Singh said schools would resume normal classes in violence-hit Manipur from July 1 instead of June 21 as announced earlier.

He said that all zonal education officials under the Department of Education have been directed to inform all the concerned people and take the necessary action.

Earlier, the department had announced that normal classes will resume from June 21.

After July 1, considering the law and order situation, the classes for the remaining standards up to college level will be resumed in a phased manner.

Manipur has 4,617 schools and out of these, relief camps for the displaced persons and accommodation for the central forces were organised in around 100 schools.

The state government has been trying to make alternative arrangements for the inmates of the relief camps and the security forces, so that the students are not affected, an official of the Education Department said.

Officials said that around 6,000 students of various standards have been displaced due to the ethnic violence that hit the state on May 3.

Education Minister Bashanta Singh had said earlier that the department is taking steps for the welfare of the affected students.

“Study materials like notebooks, pens, pencils, sports material, and uniforms will be provided to the displaced students,” he had said, adding that volunteer teachers will be deputed for the students staying in the relief camps to organise coaching classes.

Singh had said that the transfer of displaced students studying in Classes 9-12 to schools of their choice will be allowed provided seats are available.

“If seats are not available in the selected school, arrangements will be made in other nearby schools,” said Singh, adding that those who live in far-flung areas will be provided with gadgets like tablets for distance learning.

Offline classes for the first year MBBS students of Churachandpur Medical College are being conducted both at the college and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in Imphal.(IANS)