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Source say that yenda news agency : Two zonal education officers and one deputy inspector of schools received letters from four Manipur MLAs in the Churachandpur district and two from the Kangpokpi district asking them to grant no-objection certificates (NOCs) to schools so they could be affiliated with the CBSE.

Following the disturbance caused by the ethnic violence, three senior Manipur education department officers who were suspended on January 12 have written to the government to express their regret for granting no-objection certificates (NOCs) for schools in two districts to apply for CBSE affiliation without following the proper procedures.
In their letters of apologies to the Manipur government, the three officers claimed that they had been “compelled” to sign the NOCs due to “pressure” and “duress” from “student bodies, elected representatives, and civil society organizations to issue the NOCs.”

Documents included in the letters from the education authorities reveal that two zonal education officers (ZEOs) and one deputy inspector of schools received letters from four MLAs in Churachandpur district and two in Kangpokpi district asking them to grant the NOCs.

On December 20, 2023, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) revoked the affiliation of twenty-five schools located in the Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur. This decision was made following the state government’s notification that the schools had not received nods of approval to seek for affiliation.

Before submitting an application for central board affiliation, state board schools are legally required under the CBSE rules to obtain NOCs from the state government.

The Manipur government suspended deputy inspector of school L Taithul in Churachandpur’s Samulamlan block, Jangkhohao Haokip, ZEO of Churachandpur, and Lhingtinneng Singsit, ZEO of Kangpokpi, on January 12 in response to the CBSE action.

A tentative attempt was made to formalize a new arrangement when the education board in the two “hill districts” switched from the state to the central board,

since May 3, 2023, when conflicts broke out between the Kuki-Zo tribes, who predominate in the hills, and the Meiteis tribes, who live in the valley.

The three officers acknowledged in the letters that they would be going against protocol, but that the ethnic violence had interfered with government services, including education, and that they were unable to resist external pressure.

“In a letter to the public authority dated December 29, 2023, Jangkhohao Haokip, the ZEO of the slope locale 65 km from the state capital Imphal, expressed that schools under ZEO Churachandpur who have applied for CBSE connection came for mark to me. I would like to state the following few lines in my favor for your kind consideration and sympathetic action.”

“I initially refuse them, hiding at home and saying that I lack the ability to grant a nod of affiliation to CBSE. However, following his appointment as Churachandpur’s i/c (in-charge) ZEO. I have to be at work and take care of all office duties,” stated Jangkhohao Haokip.

“After that, I am unable to deny any longer due to pressure from a variety of sources, including parents, joint student bodies, CSOs, and even elected representatives. After being under duress, it’s a “do or die” scenario. After then, Salt Brook School and Soikholal High School are the two places I am obligated to sign. As a result, I humbly beg that you will comprehend my predicament and extend an apology and thoughtfulness to me. “I promise to make sure that this problem doesn’t arise again in the future,” stated Jangkhohao Haokip.

Four Kuki-Zo MLAs—Lezamang Haokip, Paolienlal Haokip, Chinlunthang, and LM Khaute—wrote letters to the Churachandpur ZEO requesting that he grant NOCs to schools in their constituencies that had reached out to him. The quartet of MLAs penned the letters on July 11, 2023, the same day.

The Kuki-Zo group Committee on Tribal Unity, the Kuki Students’ Organization (SH), parents, and the “local minister” instructed Lhingtinneng Singsit, the Kangpokpi ZEO, to complete the CBSE affiliation paperwork at the district level, according to her letter to the government outlining her reasoning for issuing the NOC.

She stated that the Sadar Hills Private Schools Association had asked her for the NOC, but she had advised them to speak with the appropriate authority, the education department in this instance.

In a letter dated December 29, 2023, Lhingtinneng Singsit wrote to the Manipur government, “… I advised them to approach the competent authority and to forward their application by this office, but instead they insisted me citing that the DEO/ZEO can also do the same at the district level.”

I have no choice but to continue at the district level. But I also urged them to get the same from the appropriate authority through the right channel,” Lhingtinneng Singsit wrote in the letter, outlining the correct procedure for submitting an application for a NOC.

She included letters from Nemcha Kipgen and Kimneo Hangshing, two Kuki-Zo MLAs, asking her to grant the NOCs. The letter was written on May 30, 2023, by Kimneo Hangshing, and on July 7, 2023, by Nemcha Kipgen.

Fulfilled Their Duties to the Best”: Churachandpur Deputy School Inspector

In a letter to the government dated December 29, 2023, L Taithul, the deputy inspector of schools for Churachandpur’s Samulamlan block, stated that he was also “under pressure” to issue NOCs on behalf of the Churachandpur ZEO, who was unable to function because of the crisis, from MLAs, CSOs, and student organizations.

We, the subordinate personnel of the Churachandpur ZEO, performed our tasks to the best of our abilities. I refused the proposal to grant the NOC for CBSE affiliation for a few schools since I lacked the necessary authority. However, I was facing pressure from student bodies, CSOs, and elected officials. I deeply regret issuing the NOC on behalf of the ZEO, as I was unable to resist the pressure,” L Taithul wrote in the letter. “I demand you to pardon me for this demonstration and I vow to work cautiously from now on and wouldn’t rehash such activities,” he expressed.

The four Kuki-Zo MLAs—Letzamang Haokip, Paolienlal Haokip, Chinlunthang, and LM Khaute—asked the deputy inspector of schools to give the NOC. Paolienlal Haokip, Letzamang Haokip, Chinlunthang, and LM Khaute corresponded with the deputy inspector of schools on May 15, May 16, and May 28, 2023.

According to government sources today, the three education officers’ letters amply demonstrate that they were under extreme strain due to the violence, and as a result, they violated important departmental protocols because issuing NOCs is not a simple operation.

Officials from Hill Districts Cannot Access Imphal

In a letter dated January 16, the ten MLAs urged Home Minister Amit Shah to lift the three education officers’ suspensions, stating that during the crisis, they behaved in the best interests of kids and schools. The MLAs claimed that the kids had wasted valuable months of the school year and that the three suspended officers should be summoned back to work and the 26 schools should be re-affiliated with the CBSE.

In their letters to the education officers, the MLAs cited the total breakdown of governance brought about by the violence, as well as the fact that it was now impossible for officials to visit the education department’s headquarters in Meitei-dominated Imphal, where, in the first week of the violence, 77 Kuki-Zo tribe members lost their lives and their homes were set on fire.

Due to what appeared to be a lack of support from the education department, Kuki-Zo pupils in the hill areas faced extreme challenges as the infrastructure supporting their education deteriorated. The lengthy internet ban that hindered online learning made this worse.

However, because of superior infrastructure and the fact that pertinent officials resided in the same city, students in the urban Imphal Valley attended courses for a significantly higher number of days.

Kuki-Zo Organizations Object to the Suspension

Kuki-Zo CSOs have been requesting the measure be reversed in response to their suspension. Now that the situation is clear, the government is probably going to bring back the three education officers for the benefit of the children who have been impacted by the disturbances in Manipur related to violence, according to sources.

Following the suspension of the three officers on January 12, civil society organizations in Kuki-Zo said the government’s action was an attempt to harass them.”It is especially horrible that the three authorities have been suspended for completing their obligations, as they have not committed any deficiencies that warrant such a discipline. “The Kuki Students’ Organisation, situated in Churachandpur, has stated, “The partisan action of the Manipur government raises questions about due process and fair treatment, in addition to disrupting the efficient functioning of public services.”

In December 2023, the administrators of Kangpokpi schools criticized the government for their “obtuse focus” on procedures, arguing that academic continuity—whether from the state board or the CBSE—was all the pupils needed in the midst of ethnic conflicts and other catastrophic disturbances.