The fight between Manipur and Nagaland over school board affiliation moved to the next round with the Nagaland Assembly passing a Bill, allowing affiliation of out-of-state schools with Nagaland Board of Secondary Education (NBSE), unopposed. Meanwhile, the Manipur Government, which had brought an ordinance into effect banning schools in the state from affiliating with the NBSE, has also introduced penalties for disregarding the ordinance.The new law enacted by the Nagaland Government allows, in selected cases, schools from Manipur and other states to be affiliated with the NBSE. For more than a year now, Naga-dominated districts of Manipur have been asking their students to be allowed to appear for NBSE-conducted exams. The latest move by Nagaland is being perceived by Manipur as yet another attempt at carving out parts of the state to form a Greater Nagaland or “Nagalim” as demanded by the NSCN (I-M).The move has sent Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi scurrying to New Delhi for the second time in a week with an appeal to the Prime Minister and other senior Union ministers to not allow the new law to be enacted. However, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has been lauded by the the Naga civil society organisations in Manipur. In statements issued to the media since the passing of the controversial Bill by the Nagaland Assembly on September 18, the United Naga Council (UNC), Naga Women’s Union, Manipur (NWUM), Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) and the influential All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) have termed it as a “historic effort” for the people of “south Nagaland”.The Naga organisations also say they expect the Centre to appreciate the model of Nagaland’s “universal education” policy in respect of the “national education policy” and have expressed happiness that the Nagaland Assembly cut across party lines to enact the law.“We appeal to every section of society in the region to discourage and shun politicising the school affiliation issue because pursuit of education is universal. The ethnic minority seeking better and suitable syllabus, according to the choice of the people under any school board, is a process of building quality education for the deprived,” says the statement.Now, as Ibobi heads out his two-week visit to New York and then to Bangkok to invite business opportunities for his state, the penalties decided upon for Manipur schools would be the only deterrents till he returns to further address the issue.As of now, while a date is to be fixed for convening a special session of the Assembly to discuss the issue, no school can affiliate to other education boards. If any school violates the Government decision, their students would be disallowed from higher education courses in Manipur, and subsequently seeking jobs with the Manipur Government.
