30 Manipuri girls find sanctuary in Kerala church school

Thirty young girls from Manipur, a state riven by sectarian violence, have taken sanctuary in a church-run school in Kerala, where they will finish their education that was interrupted.

The Malankara Mar Thoma Sabha-run Nicholson Syrian Central School in Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta district, has welcomed girls aged 10 to 13 to Classes V through VIII.

This occurs only a few weeks after 23 Manipur students—ten of whom were girls—who had moved to Kerala to pursue higher education were admitted to Kannur University in the state's north.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the ordination of its head, Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan, the 30 girls have been named as recipients of the Education Care Project, which was started by the Malankara Mar Thoma Sabha.

The Education Care Project flew the students from Dimapur and Aizwal, respectively, via Calcutta to Kochi in two groups on October 4 and 5. There was one Manipur guide for each of the two batches that went to Kochi. After that, the pupils were driven 110 kilometers south of the state to the school.

The school's manager, Geetha T. George, told The Telegraph on Thursday that "they have all been brought here, admitted to the school and accommodated at the school hostel with the full consent of their parents and the approval of the child welfare committee of Manipur."

She mentioned the violence in Manipur and added, "Our teachers are providing additional tuition and care for these students since they are finding it a little difficult to pick up since they have lost the initial months of the academic year."

Since English is the primary language used at the school, the children have no trouble communicating in it. George stated, "It's not necessary for them to learn Malayalam because we follow the CBSE curriculum."

Given that they were now in the school, which is situated on the church grounds, she affirmed for their security and well-being. "Since it is our responsibility to ensure their welfare, we are giving them whatever they need," she declared.

Divya S. Iyer, the district collector of Pathanamthitta, greeted the thirty children at the school on Tuesday and talked about how they could heal the trauma they had sustained from the constant violence in Manipur.

"The ability to forgive the pain you have endured is a necessary component of healing; it develops internally. And the only thing outsiders can do for you is to provide you the rich soil on which to thrive. And you are currently receiving this identical thing from this family, the school. The collector explained to the pupils that after receiving healing for oneself, the next step would be to provide others with the same type of attention and healing.

Due to the predicament of children in the northeastern state—many of whom have lost their birth certificates through arson or have simply abandoned them while escaping—the Kerala government had previously ordered educational institutions to accept students from Manipur without any documentation, including the birth certificate and transfer certificate—which are otherwise required.

The first Manipuri student to enroll in a government school in Thiruvananthapuram was personally greeted by Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty in July.

In accordance with directives from the government, Kannur University has loosened the need for original documentation for students coming from Manipur and given them until the end of their studies to ask for copies from their prior schools.