By Divesh Ranjan
As India surges ahead with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and ambitious goals of digital literacy, the state of Manipur remains shackled to an education system that is crumbling—both physically and administratively. On paper, the state has never been better resourced. The 2024–25 financial year has earmarked an impressive approx Rs 91,775 lakh under the Samagra Shiksha scheme. But behind the spreadsheets lies a different reality: one of unfinished classrooms, teacherless schools, and a generation of students slipping through the cracks.
The crisis is not for lack of vision or funds. Of the sanctioned amount, approx Rs 60,312 lakh is for fresh initiatives across elementary, secondary, and teacher education, with central assistance making up more than half. Another approx Rs 31,463 lakh, however, is tagged as spillover. This backlog underscores a deeper administrative malaise: sanctioned infrastructure remains unbuilt, approved projects are not implemented, and critical reforms stall in a web of red tape. The scale of under-performance is staggering. Out of 5,287 infrastructure interventions approved in previous years, more than 85% remain incomplete. In essential categories like computer labs, ramps for students with disabilities, and even upper primary school buildings, pendency rates are 100%. It’s not just digital education that’s being held hostage—basic, physical access to education is too.
This inertia extends to human resources. Across Manipur’s 2,889 government schools, 131 are run by a single teacher, and 40 have no enrolled students at all. These aren’t anomalies—they are symptoms of a failing system. Worse still, nearly 65% of sanctioned posts in District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), responsible for up-skilling educators, remain vacant. Without trained teachers, policies like NEP 2020 are reduced to bureaucratic jargon.
The numbers get grimmer. Manipur’s dropout rates—13.3% at the primary level and 5.6% at the upper primary—are significantly higher than national averages. Behind every statistic is a child who may never return to the classroom, often for preventable reasons: dilapidated buildings, no toilets for girls, absent teachers, or economic desperation. And while other states are implementing second-chance programs or linking students to skilling initiatives, Manipur offers little by way of re-enrollment or rescue.
There’s also a severe accountability deficit. The state has yet to operationalize a Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), a crucial mechanism for monitoring student learning outcomes and implementation of reforms. While the VSK has a mandate to provide real-time feedback for policy corrections, Manipur missed the September 2023 deadline to even begin operations. Similarly, the state has failed to act on Section 12(1)(C) of the Right to Education Act, which mandates private schools to reserve 25% of their seats for underprivileged students—a statutory right that continues to be ignored.
This is not to say all is bleak. There are promising proposals: restructuring Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) to strengthen girls’ education, expanding eco-clubs for environmental awareness, and introducing digital tools through schemes like Vidya Pravesh. But these initiatives remain largely theoretical. Without implementation, they are just bullet points in PowerPoint presentations.
The broader question, then, is not whether Manipur has a plan—it does. The real question is: who is ensuring that the plan gets executed?
Even the central government has signaled impatience. It has imposed strict conditions on fund utilization—75% usage per tranche, digital reporting via the PRABANDH portal, and adherence to submission deadlines. Yet, the very institutions expected to comply—like Block and Cluster Resource Centres—are often underfunded and understaffed. Add to this the challenge of a fragmented fund release system, where money moves from central coffers to state budgets to specific institutions with little transparency or accountability, and delays become the norm.
This crisis is not just educational; it is moral. In a state battered by conflict, instability, and displacement, schools are not merely buildings—they are sanctuaries of hope, continuity, and future-making. To leave them half-built or empty is to abandon the very idea of equity and empowerment. The solution lies in execution, not just intention. Teacher vacancies must be filled urgently. Infrastructure projects, especially spillovers from past years, must be completed before the September 2024 deadline. VSK must be operationalized without further delay. Most importantly, a culture of transparency and urgency must replace bureaucratic inertia. If not now, when? Education is more than a development agenda—it is the foundation upon which every other right and opportunity is built. If we fail Manipur’s children today, we do not just delay their future; we deny them one altogether.
The writer is Communication Strategist and Educationist.Contact: [email protected]