The girl students of T.G. Higher secondary School, located opposite the office of the Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, cannot attend some classes everyday since they have to stand in the long serpentine queue for going to the toilet.
Residents of Moirang Lamkhai in Bishnupur district have allowed the boy and girl students of Moirang Multipurpose higher secondary school to use their private toilets since there is no toilet in this government school.
The school has 1107 students. The list of such schools without basic amenities is rather long.
In the past there was restriction based on merit to the admission of students in the government schools and colleges. However the new Education Minister Okendra Moirangthem whimsically ordered that all those students who seek admission should be admitted immediately. Some journalists and activists of Democratic Students' Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) visited Moirang Multipurpose higher secondary school on Saturday. Kumar. S, the principal said that since there is no toilet in the school the boys and girls are going to the private houses nearby.
It is very kind of the people that they readily allowed the students to use the toilets.
The principal and some teachers said that at an average there are 200 students in a class room. It is impossible to make a teacher heard to all the students. Back benchers also cannot see what is written in the
blackboard. There are always disturbances in the class rooms since the back benchers vociferously complain. There are altogether 25 teachers in this school. There is a shortage of 48 teachers. The government has been refusing to transfer some teachers although many government schools in and around Imphal have more teachers than students or at least disproportionately higher number of teachers.
Islauddin Wangmayum, president of DESAM, told journalists that the Education Minister should also visit and assess the difficulties the students and teachers of schools at far off places are facing. The toilet facility at T.G. Higher secondary school in the heart of the Imphal city has a dilapidated toilet which can be used by two girl students at a time. Since there are thousands of students after the admission liberalisation they miss classes while standing in the queue to go to toilet.
Official sources say that there is no move to transfer teachers to the rural and hill areas immediately and provide basic amenities like toilet, drinking water to the students and teachers as well.
