The Kuki-Zo medical students from Manipur, who were displaced to medical colleges in Kuki-majority Churachandpur for safety reasons after violence broke out between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos in May, staged a protest on Tuesday, November 21 after they were not permitted to write their examinations.
The Kuki-Zo students were not allowed to write their MBBS Phase-1 examinations at Churachandpur Medical College (CMC) despite the National Medical Commission (NMC) having no objection to displaced students appearing in university exams from their parent college or a different institution.
Meanwhile, the students from CMC who had moved to Imphal medical colleges were allowed to write their exams, the students said.
The protest gained support from several medical students’ associations on social media like All India Students Dental Association (AISDA) and All India Medical Students’ Association (AIMSA).
AIMSA took the issue to social media platform X (previously Twitter), tweeting “The 1st year dental students who were supposed to give their university exam on 14th November were given assurance that question paper will reach them on time from Imphal(exam forms and exams fees were filled up and submitted) but to their dismay they came to learn that the question papers were never sent and they came to realised inside the exam hall waiting for the question paper.”
“Majority CMC students who are displaced to JNIMS are given the privilege to give their University Exam but the minority displaced students (Kuki zo) from RIMS, JNIMS and SAHS despite the assurance given to them they were not issued Admit Card and not allowed to give their Final University Exam,” the tweet added.
Similarly, a few medical students from the state also took to social media raising their concerns about their futures.
A Twitter user wrote, “For more than six months, we have been voiceless, a student without a college. Our friends appear for their exam, the result is declared and they move on, and here we are still stuck in our home with no future. No one is ready to help us. No one is willing to listen to our voices and struggles.”
As per reports, the protesting students have also submitted a memorandum to Governor Anusuiya Uikey regarding the ongoing issue.
