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.
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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.
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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.