Remittance-Bringing Global Money to Manipur

By Chingakham Dina,Arambam Karamjit & Khwairakpam Sunita

Remittance is the money earned in foreign countries and sent back home. Money is what we need to build physical constructions and infrastructures. Money doesn’t simply come out of blue without job, work or business. It is not easy to run a government without proper taxes, excise duties, revenue from business, job, products from factory. Our state government depends for budget to central government for help year by year without setting a proper goal for state income and revenue.

Our local people stretch hands for money to our state government for job as this is the only source of income for the personal earning and benefits. Whatever money that comes in, it will be vanished without target area of development. It is time to look beyond our own village boundary if we want to join global competition for job and income, and that money in the form of remittance will help to run our state government in resource deficiency state of Manipur. It is time to open up eyes who are involving to run state.

India is number one in term of amount of money received from remittance with $72.2 billion, followed by China with $63.9 billion and the Philippines as third place with $29.7 billion (Source: Times of India, Jun 7, 2015; The Philippine Star, global news 27, 2015). Taken the whole population of the country, average remittance amount per 1 million population in the Philippine is $321.64 million, whereas the India’s remittance per 1 million population is only $ 57.7 million. This shows that the average earning from foreign countries is far ahead in the Philippine per head. In India, Kerala tops the largest amount of remittance with Rs 1 lakh crores in 2015. Out of 33.3 million population of Kerala, an estimated 24 lakh people are living and working abroad and that contributes a large income to the state. There are thousands of Filipino in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle east, Europe and America. They can travel without fear around the world. This is possible because they can communicate in English and their government supports them.

In a resource scarce state of Manipur, generally speaking it is believed that people who live better life and stable incomes are those who work in government office. It is true, too. Because of this fact, people will sell property to get a government job every time when there is recruitment session by whatever means- bribing, corruption, favoritism, nepotism, by hook or by crook.

We have gone through mistakes and wrong decision and wrong management in every sector in Manipur. We believe that when A-grade student becomes an IAS officer, or civil servant or people handling state machinery, he/she will do something good to bring changes in our society. In most cases, they cannot bring any changes. On the contrary, it is they who change themselves and at the end of the day their minds become polluted in corruption. They become busier and busier how to siphon money from the state to buy flat in Delhi or Bangalore, or to buy gold jewelry for the wife and love ones. It is time to come out on global platform to work and earn money if the state itself cannot manage sufficiently. We need new policy at the state level.

Recently, MPSC declared to hold Manipur Civil Service Combined Competitive preliminary examination to fill up 82 vacancies. For these vacancies, there came 35,000 aspirants candidates who have submitted online application (Source: thesangaiexpress, 14Feb, 2016). Out of 35,000 applicants, only 82 will be employed. In the same way, thousands of students are struggling for IAS civil service examination in Delhi and out of which hardly one or two candidates will be recruited.

The whole remaining students will be wasted their time and energy in the name of looking job. This is how our government manages our youths’ time. In Thailand, if freshly graduated students do not work a month it is considered as time being wasted too much without working. It is same thing in any developed countries. But, in our Manipur we wait job for five year, ten years to fill the vacancy, to be filled the die in harness position. It is time we need changing ourselves.

Remittance is so important to build our state that couldn’t produce her own income sufficiently to support and run the state. This is the area we need to focus to generate income. Bringing money as remittance is possible when you are fit, well trained, capable to work and earn in international platform. We need to change our mindsets and modify our existing system. In Russia, whatever men do, it is also done by women without discrimination of job between men and women.

In Thailand, there is no discrimination on job whether a girl works as sale representation in shop, mall, exhibition etc. This is learning curve for individual. This is happening in every place where people work hard and in a place where work is considered as important. They are the people leading in present day economic world. Sometimes our civil societies impose restriction that girl should not be employed at occasional festival selling products or doing business. We need to change ourselves to give opportunity to anybody without discrimination based on sex in our society too, to take up any jobs.

Civil servant, IAS job is not that lucrative job if you work sincerely without corruption, and without siphoning state money through unfair means and favoritism. A CEO of global multinational company can bring larger amount of income and remittance than a state government officer. Presently, Manipur government spends about Rs 250 crores monthly for state government employees salary. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela got package of $84.3 million (Rs 525 crore) yearly.

At present there might be around 2000 people working abroad from Manipur at the most, that might generates Rs 6 crores if every this individual sends back Rs 30,000 on an average to Manipur per month. Whereas in Kerala remittance sent by 24 lakh of people is Rs 833 crores monthly. Assuming that if Manipur can send about 1 lakh people abroad, they might be able to send Rs 300 crore monthly with individual remittance of Rs 30,000 per month which is greater contribution than the whole state government’s monthly salary. This is what we need to target for by joining global job market.

Our youths need to come out on global market for job and income. Our leaders must change policy to be able to produce employable workforce with proper training. In our state, students focus too much on traditional subjects such as history, political science, local language literature just to highlight some examples. They are all important but you won’t expect much in global job market from such subjects. We have to focus on subjects where there is more demand, and more employment. Without skills with proper training, there is not likely change among youths in terms of employment if the state officials do not introduce well planned human resource management. In order to produce qualified youths and skills needed for job market, we need the following areas to be paid attention.

1. Open More Vocational Schools

We need more people to be trained in different areas in vocational training. We don’t have enough number. We need to absorb more students in training sector. Any students from general subjects such as History, Geography, Political science, Biology etc. are not employable directly when they finished their course. So more training is needed in specific area. In Thailand, students who are really weak in academic area will be sent to compulsory vocational school after 9th standard. Fail in the class is not their option in the education policy. In Germany, students are sent to different schooling system based on the intellectual level of the pupils after primary school. They are grouped into 3 categories of schools.

1. Gymnasium- Most intelligent students.
2. Realschule- Average intelligent students.
3. Hauptschule- Lowest intelligent students.

Most intellectual students will go to a school system called Gymnasium. Students from this school will go for academic and university education. Average intellectuals will go to Realschule. Lowest Intelligent students will go to third group of school called as Hauptschule. Students from Realschule and Hauptschule will be the future vocational students after high school level. The third group, Hauptschule- Lowest intelligent students are ones who will fail in our system of Manipur. But in Germany all citizens perform well by placing every children at right place according to their intellectual level without leaving anyone failed.

2. Introduce Speaking and Listening in English Language Syllabus

Our English proficiency skill is not enough for global job market. Our youths need more English language capability. Every educated youth can read and write English to some extent but this is not enough to join global platform. They should have strong English proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Language is the tool that you can survive well in the international environment on top of your skill in particular area. Therefore we need to include skills of Speaking and Listening as in language learning so that our youths have more chances to come out to global job market.

3. Subject Choices

Focus more on subjects which have more chances in the job market such as engineering, medicine, finance, economics, commerce, MBA, management, retail industry, hotel industry, pharmaceutical study, computer, international law. etc rather than history, political science, local language etc. We know all subjects are important but all will not be considered equally in real job market. If you look for teaching job outside India, it is better to focus on mathematics and sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology. Come out A-grade students aiming for global CEO for big companies. Those international companies CEO will be far ahead of our prestigious government jobs if we consider for money only. Example, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jack Ma of Alibaba etc.

4. Increase Intake of Students for Every Academic Session

Increase the number of intake of students for every academic year in the faculties that are already established by expanding the facility of the faculties. Our numbers in every field is too small compared with developed nations. We need to produce more skill workforce targeting job platform not only in Manipur, and government sector but also in global arena.

5. Open Weekend Class

Time is precious. In any developed nations, you will see people work at office, factory, or business and they continue their study at the same time. In India if you study as an adult you have to stop working. In order to generate personal income while studying, institutions must open weekend class (Saturdays & Sundays) for every course. This is common practice in busy and hard working nations.

6. Open Foreign Language Courses

We need to learn foreign languages to do business or work successfully with foreign people. We need to open more foreign languages such mandarin (Chinese), Thai which become more popular for business apart from English language.

Writers’ Profile:
Chingakham Dina- Working at Pathumwiali School, Pathumthani Thailand. Also taught in Cambodia / Can be reached at chingakham(at)yahoo(dot)com
Arambam Karamjit- Teacher SKN School, Nonthaburi, Thailand/Former Retail Outlet Manager, Hang Ten Co Ltd, Singapore / Can be reached at ronin9992008(at)gmail(dot)com
Khwairakpam Sunita- Works at Pathumwilai School, Pathumthani Thailand / Can be reached at sunita(DOT)khwairakpam(at)yahoo(dot)com