IMPHAL, October 28: Teachers of Modern College today staged a sit in protest at the college premise lamenting the October 18 incident when volunteers of the Monitoring Cell of Students’ Union Election had allegedly beaten up teachers of the college.
The sit in was organised by the Modern College Teachers’ Association and supported by All Manipur College Teachers’ Association, Federation of government College Teachers’ Association, Government College Part time Lectures’ Association.
The teachers also passed a resolution declaring that the college will abstain from the students’ union election for the academic session 2013-14.
Speaking to media persons, secretary, Modern College Teachers Association, Ch Rita said that in accordance with a government order, the college students’ union election, 2013 was conducted in a peaceful manner by the college authority on October 18 from 9 am to noon.
Further elaborating on the happenings of the day, she said some young individuals who identified themselves as volunteers of the Monitoring Cell of the Students Union Election came to the college, demanding that the results of five candidates of the college students’ union election be withheld.
The demand of the youths and the subsequent discussion on the matter delayed the counting of the votes, she continued.
Counting started only by 5 pm inside the college’s multi-purpose hall and during the procedure, a violent group of around 20-30 boys armed with sticks rushed into the hall and started breaking up college properties and ballot materials, she continued.
The miscreants also thrashed the officials and teachers involved in the counting of the votes inside the hall, she continued.
Teachers were injured during the arson, she lamented.
A teacher of political science department, Dr R Horam was wounded on his right hand wrist while another of the Philosophy department, Y Yaima was hit on the backbone and on the right thigh, she said before adding that the miscreants had also shouted against the Principal for not complying with the demands of the monitoring cell, she complained, before continuing that the vandalism and the demand of the volunteers of the monitoring cell was unexpected and surprising as the college had not received any prior notification regarding the candidature of the five, who the cell had charged of defying the laid down code of conducts.
Student election is a part of college education to get them trained as future leaders, but the bad atmosphere created by these student organizations has tarnished the image of college elections, she added.
She further appealed the concerned officials to find out and ban the student’s organization involved in the vandalism in the college.