PIMMSAA celebrates its First Foundation Day and gives awards to Meitei students living in relief camps
Over 120 students living in Manipur's relief camps and who - despite the difficult circumstances - passed Class 10 and 12 exams were honoured with awards by a group of scientists and academicians from the Meitei community.
Three students who scored the highest marks received the 'Community Resilient Educational Financial Support Award (CREFS) Award)', while the rest received consolation prizes and certificates, the Pan-India Manipuri Meitei Scientists and Academicians Association (PIMMSAA) said in a statement.
Some of the students came with their parents from the relief camps, while others came on their own to the event venue at Manipur University's Department of Chemistry, the organisers said, adding the event also marked the first founding day of the PIMMSAA.
"We wanted to encourage students living in relief camps to study well, to say that they are not alone. We will try our best to help them in every possible way, despite the difficult conditions since May last year," a PIMMSAA member said.
Class 10 student Pushparani Yumnam, and Class 12 students Mangsatabam Beberani Chanu and Waikhom Bikash Singh received the top three awards which included cash.
All the students honoured by the PIMMSAA had fled from their homes in the foothills of districts such as Bishnupur and Tengnoupal when ethnic violence began in May 2023.
"The only belongings some of these students and their parents had were the clothes they were wearing when they reached safer areas, far from their burning homes," another PIMMSAA member said.
Over 93 per cent students in Manipur had passed the Class 10 exam of the state board despite a difficult 2023-24 academic year due to the ethnic tensions. Many of the students are still in relief camps. The pass percentage this year was the highest in the last 10 years. More recently, it was 76 per cent in 2022, and 82.82 per cent in 2023.
"Apart from the CREFS Award, PIMMSAA is working on providing means of livelihood to internally displaced people under our sustainable livelihood mission. We see their resilient spirit and want to help them. Let us work together and rebuild a better tomorrow," a PIMMSAA member said.
PIMMSAA on its website says it is a volunteer group of multi-disciplinary scientists and academicians from the Meitei community who are creating projects for sustainable livelihood and development, among other activities.
Manipur University's former Department of Physics head Ngangkham Nimai Singh, and Department of Chemistry head Nongmaithem Rajen Singh were the chief guests; PIMMSAA general secretary Dr L Robindro and joint secretary Dr S Somarendro Singh were the key attendees from the group.
PIMMSAA says the CREFS Award is an initiative aimed at motivating students from the Meitei community living in relief camps and recognising their achievements, and encouraging them to pursue academic excellence despite huge challenges.
The ethnic violence between the valley-dominant Meitei community and nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.