Student bodies demand

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 9: Six student bodies namely; AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SUK and AIMS have appealed to the Governor to constitute a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the alleged paper scam of the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BOSEM) and take appropriate action against those found guilty.
A memorandum submitted by the six student bodies to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla said that they conducted a surprise inspection at the printing firms and the paper supplied for printing school textbooks was found to be of sub-standard quality.
The supplied paper reportedly failed to meet the prescribed GSM specifications as clearly laid down in the tender conditions.
Consequently, the printed text on one side of the paper is distinctly visible on the reverse side, rendering the textbooks inconvenient and confusing for students, it said.
The six student bodies said that such gross irregularities indicate a deliberate violation of tender norms and raise serious concerns regarding accountability and responsibility of the officials involved in the quality-checking process.
These circumstances have also given rise to suspicion regarding the possible involvement of certain BOSEM officials in the alleged paper scam.
The matter is of grave concern to the student community as it directly undermines the quality of education and negates the long-standing demand of the student community for durable and high-standard textbooks, the student bodies said.
Through the memorandum, they have appealed to the Governor to constitute a high-level and independent enquiry committee to conduct a thorough investigation into the procurement and supply of sub-standard paper for printing textbooks.
It also demanded initiation of strict disciplinary and legal action against all BOSEM officials and firm(s) found directly or indirectly  involved in the supply of sub-standard paper.
It further demanded blacklisting of the firms responsible for supplying the sub-standard paper.