ATSUM Shuts Down ZEO Offices in Manipur Hills Over Digitization Row

Imphal | March 9, 2018 — The All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) has announced the immediate closure of all Zonal Education Offices (ZEOs) in the hill districts of Manipur, launching its first phase of protest against the state government’s alleged inaction on the issue of decentralizing the digitization of service books of Education (S) department employees.

In a press communiqué issued today, Micah Kamei, Secretary of Information & Publicity, ATSUM, expressed deep disappointment over the government’s refusal to grant an audience to discuss the matter, stating that their requests for meetings with the Education Minister were denied on both February 24 and March 8.

The crux of ATSUM’s protest lies in the decision to centralize the digitization process at the Directorate of Education (S) in Imphal, instead of allowing the process to be carried out at the respective ZEO offices in the hill districts. The student body argues that such a move would dilute the powers previously held by Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) and ZEOs, and disrupt administrative efficiency in the region.

“The directive appears to be a scheme to strip ZEOs of their existing authority,” the statement read, adding that proper governance demands that ZEO offices be equipped with the necessary infrastructure to manage and store service records locally.

While ATSUM clarified that it is not against the digitization of service books, it warned that centralizing the storage in Imphal would lead to logistical hardships for personnel from remote areas, including prolonged travel times, high financial burdens, and a weakening of the local command structure. It also criticized the move as contradictory to the state government's much-touted "Go to the Hills" campaign.

“If digitization at the district level is not currently feasible due to lack of infrastructure, the government should first upgrade those facilities before proceeding,” the union stated.

ATSUM has warned of intensifying its agitation with further forms of protest if its demand for decentralized digitization is not addressed.

KV NEWS

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