Northeast
Now: Shillong: Thursday, September 13, 2018.
Meghalaya
Governor Tathagata Roy has assured of taking up with both the Centre and the
State Government the issue related to pending release of salary of teachers
teaching in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funded schools in the State.
The
Governor’s assurance came after a delegation of teachers under the umbrella of
All Meghalaya SSA School Teachers’ Association (AMSSASTA) called on him at the
Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday.
The
delegation sought the Governor’s intervention over the delay to release the
pending salary for five months to 12,451 teachers of SSA-sponsored schools.
The
president of the Association, Lasforious Marngar, said that the delegation
apprised the Governor of the plights of the teachers to which the Governor
expressed shock that the teachers have not received their salary for many
months.
“The
Governor has assured of taking up the matter with both the Centre and the State
Government,” Marngar said.
The
Association has also sought information from the Union Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) by suing the Right to Information (RTI) Act to know
the reason that led to the delay in releasing the salary.
Education
Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had also expressed concern over the inability to pay
the salary to the SSA teachers, and he explained the problem faced by the State
Government.
“The
State would require an additional amount of Rs 34.10 crore to pay the salary of
SSA teachers at the existing rate,” he said.
The
State Government has been paying the salary at Rs 19,000 per month per teacher
of LP schools, and Rs 20,000 per month per teacher of UP schools.
However,
Rymbui said that the state has to spend this additional amount of Rs 34.10
crore after the Centre’s decision to limit the salary of teachers of
SSA-sponsored schools to just Rs 15,000 per month per teacher of LP school,
which the state has to bear the extra Rs 4,500.
The
Project Approval Board (PAB) had approved only Rs 10465.2 lakh for 5814 lower
primary teachers (contractual) at Rs 15,000 per month per teacher, and Rs
16144.8 lakh for 6727 upper primary teachers at Rs 20,000 per month per
teacher.
Meanwhile
Marngar informed that the Association would not accept the decision of the
government to pay at Rs 15,000 per month.
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