Shillong, Mar 22: The state government is under pressure from ad hoc and SSA teachers for fulfilling their demands, which include pay hike and clearance of pending salary.
On Tuesday, two associations of teachers — the Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASToM) and the Meghalaya SSA Schools’ Association (MSSASA) — served ultimatum to the government to keep its promises.
FASToM took out a rally from Raj Bhavan to Malki Ground and decided to hold an indefinite sit-in protest in front of the office of the Meghalaya Board of School Education from Wednesday. It is demanding salary hike and upgrading services of ad hoc teachers to the deficit system.
Mayborn Lyngdoh, FASToM EC member and president of the Khasi Jaintia Hills Adhoc School Teachers’ Association, said Tuesday’s rally was a “clear message to the government” that the general meeting, which was held on Monday, was not over.
“We have decided to intensify our agitation by holding sit-in protest in front of the MBoSE office from 11 am to 3 pm every day. Five teachers will be sitting there rotationally. This is because we do not want to disturb the board exams,” he added.
On the same day, MSSASA asked the government to release two months’ salary of 12,541 SSA teachers before March 25, failing which they would be compelled to take stern decision.
“We want to send a clear message to the government that if it fails to release the fund for payment on or before March 25, we will call an emergency general meeting of the executive committee to decide on our next course of action as a mark of protest against the MDA government’s adamant attitude (to clear the pending salary),” MSSASA president Aristotle C Rymbai said in a statement.
The decision was taken after no action was taken to release the two months’ salary despite assurance by Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on March 2, after SSA teachers took to the streets to protest against the delay to release their five months’ salary.
“Even after 20 days, the fund is still lying with the state government or with the state finance department. It seems that the assurance given by the education minister on behalf of the state government is just a delaying tactic,” Rymbai said.
The MSSASA president said the association had also conducted a follow up on the matter on March 10.
“The secretary of Education, Ambrose Marak, told us that the delay was due to this budget session… now the session is already over so why there is a delay? Yesterday (on Monday) I again followed up with the secretary of education and came to know that the file is still under process, which is disappointing,” Rymbai said.
The teachers’ association has been agitating for months now demanding payment of salary.
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Reiterating that the government’s “delaying tactic” would not work, Rymbai said, “We are here to serve the children of the state so please don’t force the SSA teachers to come out to the streets along with our family members and relatives… We are demanding for our rights and livelihood. Just imagine living five months without salary, it is not a joke.”
