Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, FEBRUARY 7
With only five days left before the HSLC and HSSLC exams in Assam begin, the fate of the displaced Rengma students, especially those who have been cleared to appear the finals, still remain uncertain amidst fear among the parents that the students could be forced to miss their exams.Preparations for the coming HSLC and HSSLC exams are already underway in schools that have been selected t function as exam centers. Likewise, around one thousand Rengmas who were sheltered at Borpathar High School have been shifted to Silonijan as the said school is also one of the selected exam centers.
On February 4, nine hundred ninety-four Rengmas were shifted to the High School in Silonijan. They have been joined there by fourteen Adivasi families, two Boro-Kachari families and one Nepali family.
Once schools starts in Assam, they will be forced to move again from this school. Nobody knows where next. But their immediate concern is of the students who are set to appear the final exams. There are around 50 candidates, HSLC and HSSLC combined, according to one of the parents.
Some of them have been sheltered at relative’s places in Dimapur, “to help them study better” according to a parent, while the rest are scattered over different relief camps. None of them have collected their admit cards yet.
To get their admit cards, they have to travel to their school in their respective villages which, under the current circumstances, is a dangerous prospect. For any such journey into their villages, inside and across the jungles of Karbi Anglong, they must be provided with police/security escort.
Back in the month of January, the parents had raised the same issue after which “some officials” from the Assam education department had visited them and assured of help. Till today, the only help has been in the form one book each to the students.
One of the students said that the book distributed by the department is called “Master Suggestion.” It’s a compilation of Q&A’s on four different subjects. “The book consists of questions and answers from four subjects – English, Maths, Science and Social Science,” the student said. The students will be writing their exams on seven different subjects.
The parents also regretted that till date, no efforts have been made for the accommodation of the students appearing for the exams. “This is why those staying in Dimapur with their relatives are not coming back now. They don’t even know when to come because they cannot write their exams form here (relief camps).”
The tragic fall out of the clashes between the Rengmas and the Karbis has not ended with the loss of lives, it is spilling over into the attempts of the two communities struggling against odds to resume some sense of normalcy back into their lives.
