14,763 schoolkids displaced in Manipur, 93.5% readmitted to ‘nearest feasible school’, govt tells RS

Of 12 districts in Manipur, four — Churachandpur (4,099) Kangpokpi (2,822), Bishnupur (2,063) and Imphal East (2,053) — had greatest number of displaced schoolchildren, says Union govt.

A displaced student wearing slippers with a peer wearing shoes at Eastern Idea High School | Praveen Jain | ThePrint

New Delhi: A total of 14,763 schoolchildren have been displaced since ethnic clashes first erupted in Manipur on 3 May, the central government said Wednesday. 

In her written response to the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi further said that 93.5 percent of the displaced students have been readmitted to “the nearest feasible school free of cost”. The minister was responding to a question that Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen had raised in the House.

 “A nodal officer has been appointed for each relief camp to facilitate the admission process of the displaced students,” she said in her response. 

Ethnic clashes erupted between Manipur’s tribal Kuki and non-tribal Meitei communities on 3 May following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’. The march was taken out to oppose the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category — a long-pending demand of the community, which forms over 60 percent of the state’s population. Kukis and their sub-tribes have opposed this move on the grounds that it could threaten the constitutional safeguards they are currently afforded. 

Since the violence began three months ago, more than 150 people have been killed and over 50,000 displaced. The Narendra Modi government has so far deployed 40,000 personnel of the central security forces in the state to help stem the violence.

Last month, Manipur’s state school education department asked all district and school authorities to allow displaced students to be enrolled in state-run and government-aided schools.

According to the Union education ministry, of the 12 districts in the state, four — Churachandpur (4,099) Kangpokpi (2,822), Bishnupur (2,063) and Imphal East (2,053) — had the greatest number of displaced schoolchildren. Of these, in two districts — Bishnupur and Imphal East — 100 percent of the displaced students have been enrolled in the nearest feasible school. Other districts with 100 percent admission were Thoubal (250 displaced students), Wangoi (320 displaced students) and Imphal West (1,342 displaced students), according to the written response. 

Initiatives for displaced women and children 

In response to another question, the Union government said that Manipur’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had taken various initiatives to help meet the nutritional and security needs of women and children in the state.

In a written reply to a question from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha, Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani said that the state government has been “providing safe and hygienic accommodation to pregnant and lactating mothers by linking them with Shakti Sadan Homes, and the Integrated Child Development Scheme functionaries are taking care of the basic necessities and nutritional requirement, including supplementary nutrition, of women and children”. 

“A guideline has been issued by the state government for setting up and operation of relief camps,” Irani said in her response. 

Launched in 2022, Mission Shakti is an umbrella scheme to provide “safety, security and empowerment of women”, according to a release issued by the central government. The scheme includes initiatives such as the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for LPG cylinders, the Swadhar Greh Scheme for women in distress and the National Creche Scheme for children of working women.  

The ICDS is a government initiative that provides various services like meals, preschool education, primary healthcare and immunisation to children under 6 years and their mothers. 

In her response, Irani said that the Manipur government had set up mental help support centres for displaced women and children in addition to setting up a Grievance Redressal Helpline-IVRS toll-free number (1800-309-0931) for people in relief camps. 

Around 400 officials are constantly monitoring such camps, she said.  

“(These) camps are visited regularly by the Camp Cluster Officers and any gaps identified at the camps are brought to the notice of district administration for swift remedy,” the response said. “Deputy commissioners have also been directed to identify all children, who have been separated from their parents/ guardians, and ensure due steps are taken to rehabilitate the same. Steps are being taken up to restore separated children to their parents/guardians.”

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)