As many as six student bodies on Tuesday decried the allotment of examination centres for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) outside the state for Manipuri students who are aspiring to study in Manipur University (MU) and demanded an alternative arrangement.
Representatives of All Manipur Students Union (AMSU), Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA), Manipuri Students Federation (MSF), Students’ Union of Kangleipak (SUK) and Apunba Ireipak-ki Maheiroi Singpang Lup (AIMS) said in a press conference at office of KSA that many students are in a position of not appearing the examination.
DESAM president Leishangthem Lamyanba strongly opposed the allotment of CUET examination centres for Manipuri students registered in Manipuri University.
Many students whose examination centres were allotted outside the state are beyond their capacity to afford the examination, he maintained.
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He mentioned that the CUET examination to be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) is all set to begin from September 1. From Manipur, as many as 2,90,000 students applied to pursue masters’ degree in Manipur University. But due to lack of proper infrastructure, their examination centres have been allotted in other states. Such a decision by the NTA has created a lot of inconveniences to the student community, he added.
Students who had applied for entrance tests in more than one discipline were allotted examination centres at different places. As Manipur being a state with a high rate of poverty, many students decided to drop the examination, he added.
He further said that the Manipur government should take the prevailing scenario seriously as it is a matter of students’ academic career. The government should insist that the higher authorities take up some alternative arrangement so that students do not miss the examination, he said.
He said that Manipur is lagging behind in transportation, communication and digital infrastructure. Therefore, the state government should urge the Central government to exempt Manipur University from CUET, he added.
