SHILLONG:
The All Meghalaya Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan School Teacher’s Association (AMSSASTA) have listed five pending demands and submitted the same to new Education minister Rakkam A Sangma.
Lastforius Marngar, president of AMSSASTA, briefed the press on these demands, namely, payment of monthly salary, or, in the event of delays, payment at least once in three months; recognition of SSA teachers as full-term employees; salary be credited to their bank accounts  through the School Managing Committee account; immediate payment of eight-month salary pending during Meghalaya United Alliance government; and an increase in their remuneration.
SSA teachers have long been fighting an uphill battle to receive their long-pending salaries and for an increase in their stagnant renumeration.
Launched 22 years ago by the Vajpayee administration, the public programme is part of a project towards providing access to universal elementary education and ensure no child is left behind.
But in Meghalaya, the teachers have been left behind.
The last two years have seen increased agitation against what many say is mismanagement of the programme in the state.
In October 2021, then Education minister Lahkmen Rymbui flatly refused to regularise the services of SSA teachers in the state – about 12,541 at the time – blaming Delhi for not sanctioning funds without any explanation of why this would be the case.
In that same month, however, Union Minister Annpurna Devi had informed that Rs 305.84 crore was approved by the Centre as its share for the financial year of 2021–22 against the state government’s budget of Rs 33.98 crore, of which Rs 272.34 crore had already been released on August 16 of the year in the first installment.