10 Days’ Ultimatum

NSF asks Housing Department to settle school matter

Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 7

The 75 students and 10 teachers of the Government Primary School (GPS), Landmark Colony, Dimapur, now have a chance of securing themselves a school building. The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF), following an emergency official council meeting on April 7, resolved to “serve an ultimatum to the Housing department and further give 10 days’ time from the date of submission of the ultimatum to settle the matter failing which the NSF will take the students to the newly constructed school building to allow them to continue normal classes which is their legitimate right.”

This was stated in a press release from the NSF president, Tongpang Ozukum, and its general secretary, Esther Rhakho. It may be noted that the students of the school, also called GPS Ward 13, have been displaced from their earlier shelter of a school in a British made arms stockade to a children’s park since February this year after they were denied permission to set up school at a newly constructed bamboo-and-tin structure at Landmark Colony.

The NSF wrote several letters to the Public Works Department (Housing) to allow the students to continue their classes in the newly constructed school building (at a site owned by the PWD) till the matter is resolved but got no positive response from the department. The NSF has wondered why the PWD “all of a sudden” claimed that the land has been earmarked for “Rental Housing Phase-III” when the colony councils concerned were not informed of the same when they approached the department for allotment of the land for the GPS since 2011.

“Acknowledging the effort of the colony council, on 2nd July 2012, the then Hon’ble Parliamentary Secretary for Housing has strongly recommended for the allocation of that particular land for GPS Landmark colony,” stated the NSF in its release, adding, “Following which on 6th November 2012, Chief Engineer (Housing) has also directed the Executive Engineer PWD (Housing) Dimapur to investigate and submit its report whether the plot of land is lying vacant or not. This clearly shows that there was no such proposal from the Housing department for construction of Rental Housing Phase-III as claimed by the department that they have already earmark the land in 2010 for said purpose.”

The NSF expressed surprise that a “Restraining Order served to the NPF Women Wing Dimapur Division by Dimapur district administration on 11th Jan 2013 clearly mentioned that the land is proposed for the construction of GPS Landmark Colony and the same has been submitted to the government for consideration. However, quiet contrary to that, in the Restraining order served to the Landmark Colony Council on 24th Feb 2014, district administration has accused the colony council of hampering the ongoing project of the housing department where as there is no such project undertaken by the department so far in that vacant land.”

Keeping the plight of the students in mind, the NSF questioned “the Housing department and the district administration whether they have any concern about the educational career of the younger generation?” The Federation also questioned “the education department whether they are aware of these developments and what step are they going to take for the welfare of their children as a parent department?”

Meanwhile, the Department of School Education made time to check the “ground reality” today with a visit from the Joint Director of the Department, Vihoshe Sema, to the site. While Sema promised that the students will be “represented” by highest officials of the Department, the District Education Officer questioned why the school was allowed to operate in the first place without a school building.