July 22: Naga students in Manipur have “won” this round of their battle for a separate school syllabus.

Union human resource development minister Arjun Singh has assured a delegation that Naga students in the four hill districts of Manipur would be allowed to follow the syllabus of the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) instead of that of the Manipur Board of School Education.

Last year, the Manipur government, through an ordinance, made the state syllabus compulsory in 163 private schools functioning in Naga-dominated Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Senapati and Chandel districts.

“The Naga students have rejected the syllabus and decided to follow the NBSE one,” said Achumbemo Kikon, tribunal general of the Naga Students Federation (NSF).

The Naga students have been agitating for over a year now, demanding affiliation to the NBSE. “In March, the 163 schools introduced the NBSE syllabus. All the schools in question are unaided private schools and, therefore, in no way dependent on the Manipur government,” said Kikon.

What the Naga students objected to in the Manipur syllabus was the way the textbooks were written.

“They presented a distorted version of history. There was no reflection in them of the Naga way of life,” said a delegation member.

The Nagaland cabinet took up the students’ demand, discussed and agreed to it at a meeting last month. The government then referred it to the HRD ministry for clearance.t.