From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH, Aug 1: Charles Marngar, MLA/MDC of Mawhati Constituency, convened a meeting on Thursday to address the ongoing educational challenges faced by six villages along the Assam border in Block II. The meeting, held at Umlaper Village Hall, included village leaders, teachers, and school administrators from Pdengtleit, Umsder, Umlaper, Ummat I, Ummat II, and Umhi.
The objective was to discuss and find solutions for the educational deficiencies in these villages. Village leaders and educators highlighted significant issues, including the lack of proper school buildings. In Pdengtleit, there is no school at all, forcing parents to send their children to neighboring villages in Assam for education.
After the meeting, Charles Marngar detailed the issues reported.
The villages lack government-provided school buildings, resulting in classes being held in community halls or makeshift structures made of bamboo and tin or grass thatch, which are inadequate during the rainy and windy seasons. Additionally, teachers do not receive regular salaries from the government and rely on community contributions and student fees. In some villages, teachers have not been paid for nearly a year due to financial constraints.
In response to these challenges, Marngar has appealed to the state Education Minister, Rakkam Sangma, for special assistance to improve educational facilities in these border areas, which have received little attention from the Education department so far.
Furthermore, Marngar pledged to assist in paying teachers’ salaries, allocating part of his MLA salary and part of the SRWP Scheme.
During the meeting, the “Border Area Education Committee, Raid Nongtung” was established to oversee the functioning of the schools.
The committee will be led by Joplin Sten as Chairman, Formtilis Warjri as General Secretary, with Charles Marngar serving as an advisor.
