The Kuki Students’ Organisation General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ) has strongly condemned the recent actions of the Manipur state government, led by Chief Minister Biren Singh, for depriving tribal communities of their rightful educational opportunities. The declaration of admission results at the National Sports University Imphal (NSUI) has blatantly violated the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Bill, 2012.
According to the KSO-GHQ, the Bill reserves 2% for SC, 31% for ST, and 17% for OBC. However, the NSUI admission results allocated 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST, and 27% for OBC, ignoring the established reservation norms.
“This systematic deprivation of tribal educational rights is not an isolated incident,” said a KSO-GHQ spokesperson. “Tribal students have faced similar manipulations in admissions, job recruitments, service promotions, and other areas.”
In 2016, the Academic Council of Manipur University also disregarded the CEI Amendment Act, 2012, choosing instead to follow the CEI 2006 Act, which allocates lower percentages for ST. This decision, made by a council predominantly composed of Meitei professors, led to significant protests by tribal students under the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) and a subsequent mass exodus from the university campus.
Despite repeated appeals by ATSUM to implement the CEI Amendment Act, 2012, the Academic Council persisted in following the CEI 2006 Act. It was only after validation by the High Court of Manipur and later the Supreme Court that Manipur University adjusted its reservation quotas for admissions.
The KSO-GHQ has expressed frustration with the continued discrimination under the Meitei-led Manipur state government. “We have tirelessly fought for justice, including equal distribution of developmental funds between the hills and the valley, protection of tribal reservations in admissions, job recruitments, service promotions, filling of tribal backlog seats in government jobs, healthcare, education, and other areas,” KSO-GHQ added.
The organization also extended its support to the All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) in their efforts to rectify the recently declared admission results at NSUI.
