Mizoram must strive for self-reliance, global competitiveness: Minister Vanlalthlana

Aizawl, Jul 13 (PTI) Mizoram Education Minister and senior Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) leader Vanlalthlana on Monday called upon the people to take responsibility for building a self-reliant and globally competitive state. Addressing a party function at the ZPM office here, Vanlalthlana said Mizoram, which has completed 40 years of statehood, must honestly assess its strengths and weaknesses to achieve meaningful progress. He said the sacrifices made during the Mizo insurgency and the 1986 Peace Accord should inspire citizens to work towards building a stronger Mizoram. "The 1986 Peace Accord was not written with ink alone. It was written with the tears of those who lost their loved ones, homes and livelihoods. This land was built with tears and blood, and today it is calling upon every citizen to serve it," he said. He said the Mizo people chose reconciliation over revenge after years of conflict, enabling the state to enjoy lasting peace. While acknowledging the state's four decades of statehood, the minister expressed concern that Mizoram continues to depend heavily on central assistance for development. He urged citizens to adopt a broader vision and strive to make the state competitive not only within India but also on the global stage. Turning to the issue of ad hoc schools, Vanlalthlana defended the present government's decision to cancel provincialisation orders issued by the previous government, alleging that the process initiated in September 2023 lacked mandatory legal and administrative approvals. He claimed the previous administration framed rules for converting ad hoc schools into government schools without obtaining clearances from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DP&AR), the finance department and the law and judicial department. The minister said the original policy had prescribed strict eligibility criteria for provincialisation, including minimum pass percentages and student enrolment requirements for higher secondary, high and middle schools. However, he alleged that within days of notifying those rules, the previous council of ministers approved the provincialisation of several schools that did not meet the prescribed norms. According to Vanlalthlana, the resulting notifications were "paper orders" that could not be implemented, leaving the present government with no option but to revoke them. He said the present government subsequently constituted a high-level study committee headed by the DP&AR Minister, with two other ministers, an MLA, an education consultant and four senior secretaries as members, to review the grant-in-aid rules and evolve a legally sustainable framework. Following the review, the present government provincialised 51 schools after extensive deliberations, with the matter discussed five times by the council of ministers, he said. Vanlalthlana also criticised the previous government for attempting to regularise the services of more than 1,300 teachers despite, according to him, facing difficulties in paying salaries to existing government employees. PTI CORR MNB