Imphal, July 23: The ongoing six-day pen-down strike by the 603 members of the Lecturer’s Association Manipur (LAM) has taken a new turn, with students across several government higher secondary schools in Manipur joining the protest, demanding the government fulfil the lecturers’ long-pending demands.
On the third day of the agitation today, students from Ibotonsana Higher Secondary School, Johnstone Higher Secondary School, TG Higher Secondary School, and CC Higher Secondary School in Imphal staged sit-in demonstrations on their campuses. They raised slogans and held placards that read, “Make Education Disturbance-Free,” “We Want Education,” and “Issue Pending Monthly Salary of Teachers.”
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The pen-down strike began on Monday last, spearheaded by 603 lecturers who were appointed on a contractual basis in 2019. The agitation is being carried out to demand the complete implementation of a regularisation order passed by the state government and the release of pending salaries. The striking lecturers argue that despite a cabinet decision on January 4, 2022, to regularise their services, and a subsequent government order issued on January 8, 2022, which also mandated payment of salaries and allowances with effect from April 1, 2023, the directives remain unfulfilled.
Students have also begun voicing their concerns over the strike’s impact on their academic schedule. A Class XII Science student from Ibotonsana Higher Secondary School said, “We are preparing for the upcoming Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur examination. But now we’re scared our syllabus won’t be completed. Without teachers, how can we be expected to write our exams?”
She continued, “This is not the first time such disruptions have been happening in government schools. We are competing with private school students in the same examination. The government must immediately meet the demands of the striking lecturers so that we can resume our classes.”
Several lecturers alleged that they have not received regular monthly payments for the last three years. They expressed deep disappointment with the state government for not honouring its own commitments.
Similar scenes unfolded outside Johnstone Higher Secondary School, where students demonstrated in front of their school gates, holding placards and chanting slogans. The protest was peaceful but determined, highlighting the frustration that is now spreading from faculty to students.
Meanwhile, the strike and student solidarity protests are no longer limited to the state capital. Similar demonstrations have been reported from Thoubal, Kakching and Bishnupur, indicating the growing scale and seriousness of the crisis.
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Despite the widening protest, there has been no official response from the government as of Wednesday evening. The striking lecturers have reaffirmed their position, stating that the pen-down strike will continue until their demands are met and the government honours its commitments in both letter and spirit.
(Newmai News Network)