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Beena Chettri is worried about the future of her 14-year-old daughter. A Class 10 student at a private school in Imphal West, she hasn't been to school in two months.
After more than two months since the violence erupted in Manipur on 3 May, nearly 4,500 schools for Classes 1 to 8 reopened on 5 July.
But merely a day after classes reopened, on 6 July, a woman was allegedly shot dead by unidentified criminals outside a school in Imphal West, causing an already low attendance rate to see a further dip.
As the violence continues unabated in Manipur, the future of lakhs of students remains in the dark.
According to news agency Reuters, nearly all schools remained shut on the first day despite a government order to reopen them. The report added that even teachers and support staff did not show up to school in the morning.
A week later, things are no different. A principal of a school situated in Imphal East, who wished to remain anonymous, said the reason behind most schools registering low attendance is that parents are scared to send their children back.
"I have about 750 students enrolled in my school. But less than 100 students are turning up each day. Many parents have told me that they are scared to send their children as the situation is still tense. Many have said they want to withdraw their child's admission and have sought a refund. But if this continues, I will not have money to pay my staff," she added.
Then there is also the factor of displacement. "I miss going to school and meeting my friends, joking with them, and playing with them," 13-year-old Mangtinnek Vaiphei told The Quint.
His family was forced to flee Sallom Patton, a village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district, after mobs ransacked their house. He and his family are now at a relief camp in Tengnoupal.
While, according to an official release, students displaced by the ethnic violence are allowed to get admission for free at a nearby school, Vaiphei's parents are yet to enroll him.
Thangtinlen Haokip, general secretary of the Kuki Students Organisation in Sadar Hills, told The Quint that most student bodies in the hills feel that it's not safe to open schools yet.
"There are still intermittent incidents of violence in these districts, and it's still not safe to venture out," he said, adding, "The future of lakhs of children are at stake."
Moreover, Classes 9 to 12 will only resume once the construction of pre-fabricated houses for the displaced people is completed, according to Chief Minister Biren Singh.
However, it is not only school students who are suffering. The conflict has shattered the dreams of many who wanted to study outside the state.
"I may never get to go study in a city like Bengaluru or Delhi. I always wanted to go out of Manipur and wanted to explore what the world is like," Peter Kipgen, an 18-year-old resident of Moreh, told The Quint.
Kipgen just completed high school – and wanted to pursue his bachelor's degree from outside Manipur. However, the internet ban in the wake of the violence has derailed his plans.
"The violence broke out right when the board exam results were declared, and then the internet was shut down. I could not fill out forms for colleges in cities, and neither did my family have the means to make a safe passage to cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, or Kolkata. I don't know what I am going to do next. I don't know when the situation will become normal here," he added.
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