Imphal, September 18: Brushing aside the demand raised by some NGOs to affiliate private schools in the hill districts to the Nagaland Board of Secondary Education, Education Minister L Nandakumar today informed the Assembly that the demand has been raised despite the fact that it is not feasible.

"This fact is also not lost on the whole country and the people of Nagaland and yet some NGOs are intent on pursuing the matter," he added.

Answering a call attention motion raised by FPM MLA L Ibomcha in the Assembly today, the Minister said that the demand to affiliate the private schools to NBSE may be dictated by the political agenda of merging all the Naga inhabited areas under one administrative unit.

The State Government has already made it very clear that such a demand will only disadvantage the students, said Nandakumar and added that the stand of the State Government has been conveyed to the Centre in clear cut terms.

The Government has made necessary arrangements to provide alternatives to students who want to avoid the sticky situation, said Nandakumar and added that necessary steps have been taken up to counter the move to teach the text books prescribed by NBSE in private schools of Manipur.

Earlier moving the motion, MLA L Ibomcha said that the rules and regulations of NBSE stipulate that the text books prescribed by it are enforceable only within the geographical territory of Nagaland.

Even though the State Government may maintain that the demand is not feasible the fact stands that most of the schools in Ukhrul today are deserted.

The demand is growing stronger by the day and Meitei Mayek and Meitei cassettes, audio and video have been banned in some of the hill districts, said Ibomcha.

It is wrong for the MLAs from the hills to maintain a stoic silence, opined Ibomcha and suggested that a joint effort be made to make the NGOs understand the reality.

Citing an example, Ibomcha said that there was a time when the Meghalaya Board also prescribed the text book, A Manual of Elementary Science written by A Radheshyam.

This was when this text book was also prescribed by the Manipur Board, said Ibomcha.

A leaf can be taken out from this precedence, said the MLA and suggested that books prescribed by NBSE which do not pose any threat to the integrity of Manipur may be offered as optional subjects.

On the other hand, if some students from the hill districts are really keen to study the books prescribed by NBSE then they may be provided scholarship and sent to Nagaland to study there, suggested the MLA.