{"id":3649,"date":"2025-06-04T12:54:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T07:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/?p=3649"},"modified":"2026-01-19T05:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T05:18:37","slug":"back-to-school-forward-with-knowledge-women-reclaim-classrooms-to-empower-villages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/04\/back-to-school-forward-with-knowledge-women-reclaim-classrooms-to-empower-villages\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to School, Forward with Knowledge: Women Reclaim Classrooms to Empower Villages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Report by Naorem Tanoranjan & Yaiphabi Wahengbam<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

At Thongju Junior High School on May 19, the classrooms once again echoed with laughter and curiosity \u2014 not of schoolchildren, but of women, many of them middle-aged, married, and elderly, who returned to school as part of the ongoing Back to School campaign taking place across Manipur.<\/p>\n

This unique initiative, held under the aegis of the Manipur State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MSRLM), Department of RD&PR, Government of Manipur, was locally driven by the Thongju Apunba Women Multipurpose Cooperative Society in collaboration with Ebudhou Koiroulakpa VLF, Thongju Part 2 Gram Panchayat, and Kshetrigao CD Block.<\/p>\n

Far from a traditional literacy programme, the campaign aims to provide women with training in crucial areas such as food and nutrition, along with awareness of government schemes and welfare opportunities. Using the familiar infrastructure of village schools, the programme creates a nostalgic, joyful learning environment where women can reflect, reconnect, and rebuild \u2014 both personally and collectively.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the event, State Mission Director of SISD\/MCLF, Loitongbam Binota, explained the broader vision behind the initiative:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cUnder the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), we form Self Help Groups (SHGs) with the aim of developing one home at a time \u2014 and eventually the village as a whole.We\u2019ve been carrying out a range of projects in Manipur, and as part of our social empowerment focus, we launched this Back to School campaign.Through this, we train women on important topics like food and nutrition and ensure they understand them thoroughly. We also engage them in discussions about what other welfare initiatives can be implemented for their benefit, their families, and their communities.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She continued,<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning, it was difficult to ensure that every household received the training. That\u2019s when we thought \u2014 why not bring all the women together in one place they all remember: the village school? We chose to use government school buildings to give them a nostalgic opportunity \u2014 a chance to relive their school days in a fun and familiar setting. And while they enjoy the experience, they\u2019re also gaining valuable knowledge. I believe the women participating here enjoy it as much as we do in training them. And we hope this creates a lasting impact and opens doors to more learning for everyone involved.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The programme also saw the participation of representatives from different CD blocks, Zilla Parishad members, and Livelihood Mission workers, reflecting a strong collaborative effort toward grassroots empowerment.<\/p>\n

With initiatives like the Back to School campaign, women are being given more than just information \u2014 they\u2019re being offered access, agency, and a platform to participate in shaping the future of their communities. What began as a nostalgic return to the classroom is steadily evolving into a practical step toward inclusive village development.<\/p>\n

As the campaign continues across the state, organisers and participants alike hope that its impact will extend beyond the walls of the schools \u2014 into homes, families, and everyday decisions that define community progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Report by Naorem Tanoranjan & Yaiphabi Wahengbam At Thongju Junior High School on May 19, the classrooms once again echoed with laughter and curiosity \u2014 not of schoolchildren, but of … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,32],"tags":[105,52,63,106],"class_list":["post-3649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive","category-inn","tag-adult-education","tag-manipur","tag-manipur-news","tag-women-education-manipur","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8779,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649\/revisions\/8779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ichelnewsnetwork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}