Manipur CM appeals to agitating teachers to come to negotiating table

Our Correspondent
Imphal, Feb. 9 (EMN): Manipur Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, today appealed to the agitating teachers in the state to cooperate with the government and to come to the negotiating table in the larger interest of student community.

Singh made this appeal to the agitating teachers while supporting the clarification made by the state Education minister, S Rajen Singh, in response to the call attention motion by opposition Congress MLA, O Surjakumar of Khangabok constituency, on reported threat to boycott classes by agitation teachers in the day’s assembly session.

Demanding 7th UGC Pay and Regulations 2018, the Federation of Government College Teachers Associations (FEGOCTA) has been staging demonstration in the state in the last few days. The federation also resolved to take mass casual leave on February 12 and 13 and boycott classes on February 17 if their demand was not entertained.

Earlier, Education minister Rajen informed that the demands of FEGOCTA for the implementation of 7th Pay to the college teachers would be converted into action at the earliest.

In the day’s question hour, the Education minister informed that a state task force and sub-task force have been constituted for the successful implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the state.

There have been three sittings of the forces so far and have discussed the feasibility of NEP in the state. He also informed that a total of 120 posts of pre-primary teachers would be recruited to train children between the age of 3-6 years.

On the opening of Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), Rajen informed the house that the ITEP has been introduced in five selected colleges in the first phase, while 45 colleges have been turned into multi-disciplinary colleges with the inclusion of various vocational courses as per NEP 2020.

Stating that the government is taking up steps to make the colleges of the state multi-disciplinary, he said the government has also constituted a state level task force of 36 stakeholders to chalk out a roadmap for implementation of NEP 2020.

Besides, a sub-committee for Higher and Technical Education department consisting of 11 members has also been constituted to make recommendation to the state task forces on various issues, he added.

On the fifth day of the assembly session, the deputy chief minister, Y Joykumar, who is also in-charge of Finance laid, “The Manipur banning of unregulated deposit schemes rules, 2021.”