Students, teachers face issues as Manipur reopens schools, colleges

As schools and colleges reopened in violence-hit Manipur on Friday, teachers and students expressed concerns that they are facing many problems related to syllabus and extracurricular activities.
The Manipur government on Thursday announced that schools and colleges in Manipur’s Imphal Valley districts and Jiribam would resume classes from November 29, following a 13-day shutdown due to violence in the region.
Educational institutions were shut down on November 16 following violence triggered by a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants in Jiribam.
The clash resulted in the deaths of 10 militants and the disappearance of six members of the same family from a relief camp. Days later, their bodies were found in the Jiri and Barak rivers in Manipur and neighbouring Assam, escalating tensions further.
The Principal of CC Higher Secondary School in Imphal’s Memtombi Devi asked teachers to find ways to cope with the prevailing situation and to take up extra classes.

The CC Higher Secondary School is located in the centre of the city and its students often take part in protest demonstrations. When asked about the same, the school principal said she had identified scores of students who actively took part in such activities and she, along with the teachers, started visiting their homes to advise them not to participate in such protests.
Memtombi said she is actively visiting many students’ homes and convincing the parents and students to concentrate more on their studies.
On the other hand, the vice principal of the school, K Surendra, expressed that due to the prevailing situation, the normal functioning of schools was affected considerably.
K Surendra further added that many working days have been lost due to repeated curfews and disturbances in the area. He said that this year alone, around 50 working days have been lost so far. He said that teachers are facing many difficulties in completing the syllabus.
“Extra classes will be taken up even during winter vacations,” Surendra maintained.