Kohima, September 14: After more than a year of indecision, the Nagaland Government has brought in a legislation that allows schools from other States to get affiliated with the Nagaland Board of Secondary Education (NBSE)- a demand that has been growing among the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur.

Nearly 4,000 students from Manipur appeared for the Class X board exams conducted by the NBSE earlier this year, but the pro-affiliation stance of the state�s Naga community has been strongly opposed by the Okram Ibobi Singh Government.

Speaking to The Indian Express from Kohima, Nagaland Education Minister Imkong Imchen said the legislation allowing affiliation of out-of-state schools to the NBSE had been enacted with immediate effect, although the same would be introduced in the Assembly and debated on the floor on September 18. �From now on, any school from any part of the country can get affiliated with the NBSE.

This is in keeping with the policy of �one nation, one Government�.

We understand the need to assimilate people�.

The minister added that there had been considerable pressure from NGOs such as the Naga Hoho and the Naga Students Federation to enact such a legislation.

The Nagas in Manipur, spearheaded by the All Naga Students Association, Manipur, have been pressing for schools in the four Naga-dominated districts to be affiliated with the Nagaland board, a demand refused outrightly by the Manipur Government.

Initially, the Nagaland Government had also expressed its inability to allow the same, as it wasn�t covered by the existing provisions of the NBSE.

The NBSE syllabus has, as part of its curriculum, chapters on the Naga struggle for independence and ongoing peace process as well.

�What is the harm in including the Naga struggle in the syllabus? The issue is no longer a hidden agenda.

It has now become a national issue.

In the exams conducted this year, we allowed several thousand students from Manipur to appear, although their schools were not affiliated�.

The pro-affiliation move has also faced resistance from Naga militants.

The NSCN (K) had offloaded students travelling by bus from Tamenglong in Manipur to Kohima, and had pushed the vehicle down a ravine to express their opposition.

One reason could, of course, be that the move is regarded as being part of the NSCN (I-M)�s efforts at integration of all Naga-inhabited areas in the region under one administrative roof.