Manipur Class 10 board exam begins amid 48 hours general strike

The Class 10 exams conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BOSEM) began on Friday amid a 48-hour general strike called by 13 different CSOs led by the Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) against the alleged arrest of three militant leaders by NIA on Wednesday.

At least 37,715 students are appearing for the examinations at 154 centres across the state. Of the 37,715 students, 27,281 are from private institutions while 9,119 students are from government schools, and 1,315 others are from aided schools.

Earlier, Akham Joykumar Singh, chairman of BOSEM, said his board has already appointed 25 inspection teams comprising government officials and private institutions in the valley to conduct inspections at those centres.

Moreover, the authorities have imposed CrPC Section 144 in and around the centres for the smooth conduct of the examinations, he added.

The examination will continue till April 8, next month.

Meanwhile, normal life was significantly disrupted in Manipur on Friday due to a 48-hour general strike called by various civil society organisations against the arrest of three militant leaders of UNLF (P), which is currently under ceasefire with the Centre to start formal peace talks.

The United National Liberation Front (Pambei) became the first Meitei insurgency group, which entered a formal ceasefire agreement with the Centre on November 29 last year.

The strike resulted in the closure of almost all the commercial establishments and markets, with only a limited number of private vehicles on the roads.

However, students who are appearing for examinations and their families and guardians, media, medical, and emergency services were exempted from the strike.