Manipur school falls silent as students walk out over severe teacher shortage

In an unprecedented reflection of the deepening crisis within Manipur’s government school system, students of T. Vaichong Government High School in Kangpokpi district have walked out of their institution and returned home after months of studying without adequate teachers.

The school, which caters to more than 380 students, has 21 sanctioned teaching posts, but for several months only four teachers have been available to handle the entire academic load. Despite repeated appeals since August 2025, neither reinforcements nor official interventions arrived, leaving students feeling abandoned.

In August, the school’s captain, Eddy Dahal, made a formal appeal to the Governor of Manipur, detailing how the teacher shortage was eroding their confidence, academic stability, and future prospects. However, the representation failed to draw any response from the authorities.

With their pleas going unheard, the students said they were left with no option but to step away from their classrooms. Many described the decision as “heart-wrenching but necessary.”

Speaking to reporters, Vice-Captain Eddy Dahal recounted the extraordinary measures the students and community had taken to keep learning alive.
“Sometimes we taught ourselves using online videos. Sometimes I taught the lower classes. Villagers even volunteered,” he said.


“But these were temporary arrangements. Higher classes need qualified teachers who can prepare us for board exams and our careers. We cannot continue like this.”

Students say the absence of teachers has not only crippled academic learning but has also shattered morale. Parents, too, expressed anguish that the education system had left their children with no reliable path forward.

 

Community leaders claim this may be the first incident in Sadar Hills Kangpokpi — and possibly anywhere in India — where students have abandoned a government school not out of protest against rules or fees, but because there were no teachers left to teach them.

 

Before dispersing to their homes, students held placards and pamphlets outside the campus, appealing to the state government and civil society organisations:
“Give us the teachers we rightfully deserve. Help us return to school. Help us learn again.”

 

Today, the classrooms of T. Vaichong Government High School stand silent not because students refused to learn, but because the system failed to provide them an education.