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Senapati, Manipur – October 4, 2023 – The All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) has issued a press communique expressing deep concerns over alleged ethnic discrimination in the examination results of tribal students from the Kuki-Zo community at Manipur University.
In their statement, ATSUM highlights the five-month-long ethnic conflict that has plagued Manipur and the disproportionate impact it has had on the Kuki-Zo tribal students. The union has received a complaint from the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) regarding what they describe as blatant discrimination against tribal students in the recently declared 6th-semester examination results in the Psychology department of Manipur University.
According to ATSUM, a total of 76 Kuki-Zo students from Rayburn College appeared for the examination, but only 10 students were initially deemed to have passed the exam. The shocking revelation was that one student was given a score of -2 in Elective English, and many students received a score of 0 in certain papers despite these subjects having both theory and practical components.
ATSUM asserts that this situation strongly suggests that the university intentionally failed tribal students based on their ethnicity. The controversy didn’t end there. When students who were shocked and dismayed by the initial results verbally complained to the Controller of Examination at the university, an updated result was released within a span of 2-3 hours. In the revised result, the number of students who passed the exam suddenly surged from 10 to 41.
The union condemns this apparent manipulation of results and argues that examination results should be assessed based on a student’s performance and integrity, not their ethnicity. ATSUM has called for a thorough investigation into these allegations of discrimination and manipulation. They emphasize the need for the concerned authorities to ensure that Kuki-Zo tribal students can pursue their studies without facing discrimination and malice.
The press communique from ATSUM underscores the broader issues of ethnic tension and discrimination that have emerged in Manipur due to the ongoing crisis. It highlights the urgency of addressing these issues to ensure fairness, justice, and equal opportunities for all students in the region, regardless of their ethnicity.
