IMPHAL, March 17: Five Catholic Schools in Imphal have decided to close down their schools as they failed to come to an agreement with an underground organization regarding the admission procedure of its lowers classes.
The five schools are Little Flower School, St Joseph School, Nirmalabas High School, Christ Jyoti School and Catholic School at Canchipur.
The schools will remain close until an amicable solution is brought between the school and the said UG group, a source said.
Meanwhile ATSUM expressed dismay with the closure of all Catholic Educational Institution in the valley due to alleged disturbance and tension from various valley based student bodies including some underground element, the All Tribal Students`™ Union Manipur (ATSUM) asked everyone to make every educational institution in the state a disturbance free zone today.
Emboi Serto, President ATSUM recounted that in the year 2009 the All Tribal Students`™ Union Manipur and valley based student bodies had jointly declared all educational institution in the state a `Disturbance Free Zone`™ but today the same valley based student bodies unfortunately becomes the scalawag in the functioning of catholic schools in the state.
At the same time it is unfortunate that some underground element have also indulged in making unwanted disturbances to the catholic schools in the state alleged ATSUM supremo.
He further alleged that in the name of right to education the valley based student bodies have interfere calculatedly in the process of admission in Catholic schools, demanded quotas and also locked the educational institutions which undesirably produce hazy disturbance to the schools.
Why only Catholic Educational Institution has been pin-pointed and disturbed while there are countless private run schools in the valley wondered Emboi Serto while adding it will be healthy and wise on the part of the those organizations to conduct post mortem of their own activities before things turned unattractive.
While curiously asking those organizations about the functioning and administration of other private run educational institution in the state Emboi Serto asked, `Do those countless private run educational institution follow in reality the guidelines lay down by Board of Secondary Education Manipur and Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur as well as those guidelines under Right to Education Act`.
He continued that earlier ATSUM has already appealed to those organizations and every right thinking denizens to hold a healthy debate over the issue but nothing constructive and positive response has been acknowledged.
If a healthy debate was conducted following the ATSUM appealed the Catholic Educational Society decision to closed down all Catholic schools in the valley could have been avoided said Emboi while adding terming the closured of Catholic schools in valley due to the alleged tension and disturbance from various organizations a huge loss to the academic career of many children in the state.
The ATSUM once again suggests a healthy debate over the issue, appealed Emboi and articulated that ATSUM`™s willingness to conduct a reality check and have joint inspection of every private run educational institution in the valley by ATSUM and valley based student bodies including those UGs to check whether they follow the prescribed guidelines under RTE and BOSEM as well as CoHSEM.
ATSUM further appealed to all organizations and every right thinking denizens of Manipur to solve the imbroglio over the Catholic schools at the earliest so as to ensure educational institutions a disturbance free zone.