Day: October 9, 2015

IMPHAL, October 9: Volunteers of the Joint Students`™ Coordinating Committee today locked the administrative offices of four private schools for not complying with the committee`™s appeal to charge only 30 percent school fees for the month of July and August.

The appeal was made considering the closure of educational institutes in the valley districts during the said period in the wake of ILP agitations in the State.

The four schools are Heritage Convent Uripok, Shishu Nistha Nekatan Mayaikoibi, North Point Higher Secondary School Achanbigei and RK Sanatombi School Pangei, JSCC convenor Jayentakumar Khuman said.

Speaking to media persons, Jayentakumar said the committee had held two meetings on August 16 and September 1 with the All Manipur Recognised Private Schools Welfare Association and the All Manipur Van Drivers Association during which it was agreed that the schools in Imphal and its surrounding areas will charge only 30 percent of school fees of the total amount for the months of July and August.

Further, the school van services had also agreed during the meetings that the services will charge only 50 percent of their fees and teachers will receive only 50 percent of their salaries for the two months.

He said the decisions were arrived at considering that the schools had remained closed for the entire two months due to the ILP agitations.

However, he said, most schools have failed to follow the agreement which was already announced through the media on August 16 and September 1.

As such, the JSCC had warned the schools through the media that starting October 8, the administrative blocks/ rooms will be locked down if the schools fail to comply with the instruction, he said.

He continued a team of the JSCC volunteers led by its convenor Jayentakumar Khuman, media coordinator Sarangthem Manjit and JSCC member Maibam Bidyaraj visited five schools in Imphal and its surrounding areas to check whether the appeal has been complied with.

Of the five schools, only one was found complying with the instruction and as such the administrative blocks of the four others were locked down, he added.

Only Maria Montessori Senior Secondary School was found complying with the instruction during the visit, he added.

`Schools are not meant for profit making, it is a place of learning so the agreement was quite reasonable considering the turmoil faced during the ILP agitations,` said JSCC media coordinator Sarangthem Manjit.

He appealed to those schools that have already collected the full fees to refund it to the students at once.

He said those schools which have been locked down today can only re-open their administrative block/rooms only after giving an assurance that they will follow the JSCC`™s instruction.

JSCC will take further course of action against those schools who have failed to comply with this instruction, he added.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/10/jscc-locks-admin-sections-of-schools-for-not-complying-with-30-pc-fees-appeal/

IMPHAL, October 9: The Indo-China Combined Military Training Exercise HAND-IN-HAND 2015 will be conducted from October 12 to 23 at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China, according to a PRO (Defence) Imphal statement.

`The exercise will bring together troops of an Infantry sub-unit and a formation headquarter of the Indian Army and similar participation from the Chinese Army for the joint training.`

It said this will be the fifth exercise in the Hand-in-Hand series, which started in 2007.

This exercise will strengthen and broaden interoperability and cooperation between both the Armies as well as complement a number of other exchanges between the two forces, it said.

Over the years, the two countries have decided to progressively increase the scope and content of the combined training, the PRO (Defence) Imphal statement said.

The 12-day exercise will lay emphasis on joint handling of insurgency at sub-unit level and related issues, while the aspect of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief will be discussed at formation headquarters level, it continued.

Commanders and staff officers of both sides will work in close coordination to receive and collate intelligence and to issue suitable operational orders to the combined field training components, who in turn will execute these orders on ground, it said.

The exercise curriculum has been planned progressively where the participants will initially be made to get familiar with each others organisational structure, weapons, equipment and tactical drills. Subsequently, under Joint Tactical Exercises Battle Drill of both the armies will be rehearsed, it said.

A Consolidation and Validation Exercise will be witnessed by senior officers and observers of both Armies at the end of the Joint Training, in which troops of both nations will carry out sub-unit level counter insurgency operation training, it said.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/10/india-and-china-to-conduct-joint-military-training-exercise/