IMPHAL August 9: The administrative offices of several colleges in the valley areas of the state were today locked up by agitating students in protest against the non-functioning of normal classes owing to government college lecturers being on cease work strike since August 1.
The All Manipur College Student Union, a conglomeration of college students of the state had today locked up administrative offices of several colleges located in Bishenpur, Thoubal, Imphal east and Imphal west today. The agitating students continued with the locking up of the colleges till late in the afternoon.
Administrative offices of DM College, G.P. Women College, Haoreibi College, Imphal College, Lilong College, Manipur College and Thoubal College have been so far locked by the protesting students.
Sagolsem Bimol Singh, president of AMCSU, during a brief interaction with media persons said that the student community has been facing disturbances in their normal classes as their teachers, under the aegis of the Federation of College Teachers’ Association Manipur has been on cease work strike. Accusing the authority concerned of being indifferent on the demands of the teachers for revised UGC pay scale, the student body lamented that the student communities are pulled into unnecessarily hardships.
The student body further warned the authority concerned of stern democratic agitations of various forms, if they fail to bring a viable solution with August 10.
Meanwhile, The Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) will launch stern agitations if the impasse between the college teachers and the state government is not resolved by August 10.
Addressing media persons today, assistant secretary of DESAM, Arambam Thoithoi stated that the demands of the college teachers are legitimate but the students should never be deprived of education. The leaders of the state have been shouting for “quality education” but in true sense they never take the matter seriously. The reasonable demands made by various organizations have been suppressed by the government until unwanted incidents occur in the state, he said.
“The standoff between the Federation of College Teachers’ Associations Manipur (FECTAM) and the state government should be resolved as soon as possible in the interest of the students”, Thoithoi asserted.
General secretary of DESAM M Angamba stated that the students are worried with the disturbance in the academic atmosphere of the colleges caused by the ongoing cease-work strike of FECTAM. There is apprehension that the syllabus would not be completed in time as the semester system has already been introduced in all colleges of the state, he noted.
Meanwhile, the Coordination Committee of Colleges Students’ Union has submitted a memorandum to the Governor and the Chief Minister today urging them to resolve the issue of FECTAM and ensure that regular classes in the colleges are resumed as soon as possible.
