Lower and upper primary teachers, under the banner of All Primary School Teachers Association (APSTA), will first meet at the Khasi National Durbar Hall in Mawkhar at 11am before proceeding towards the secretariat.
“Our salaries have not been disbursed since December. This is totally unjustifiable,” APSTA general secretary F.C. Shullai said today, adding that there were around 6,000 such teachers in the state.
The teachers are also demanding the release of 30 per cent arrears of revised payscales and reinstatement of the head teachers’ allowance of Rs 100 per month, which was given prior to the implementation of the Fourth Pay Commission.
Last year, the state government had revised the payscales of all primary teachers, both government and those under non-plan system, according to the recommendations of the Meghalaya Fourth Pay Commission.
It has already disbursed 40 per cent arrears, as stipulated by the pay commission, to the teachers.
Education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said fund constraints were hindering the early release of salaries.
“The financial implication of the implementation of the Fourth Pay Commission was huge. We had cleared 40 per cent arrears of the teachers during December and January. This has put us in a difficult situation,” she added.
Lyngdoh said during the recent budget session, she had moved a supplementary demand of Rs 46 crore for the payment of salaries and other allied issues.
“Till now, we have not received the full amount from the finance department. But once we receive the money, we can pay the salaries of the teachers.”
The Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers Association has given “moral support” to the primary school teachers and demanded streamlining of the system of disbursement of salary to unburden the teachers.
“The government should streamline the present system of salary disbursement to the teachers which is highly intricate,” the association’s president E.D. Nongsiang said.
The primary school teachers will also decide their next course of action on the remarks made by Independent legislator Manas Chaudhuri on the floor of the House during the recent budget session.
Chaudhuri had drawn flak from various quarters when he compared teachers with “potatoes” and legislators with “apples”.
He had said though potatoes and apples had similar shapes, they were not alike and the same applied to teachers and legislators.
He said the grade of legislators was much higher than teachers as MLAs came number four in the warrant of precedence — after the governor, Speaker, chief minister and ministers — in the state.
“We will decide what is required to be done on the irresponsible remarks made by Chaudhuri,” Shullai said.