SHILLONG:
The Meghalaya Samagra Shiksha Abhiyann (SSA) School Teachers Association (MSSASA) on Wednesday threatened to resign en masse if Education minister Lahkmen Rymbui does not apologise for his warning to not pay the agitating teachers if they do not work.
“The government has cheated us. We condemn the Education minister’s remark and demand that he takes back his statement by tomorrow (Thursday). If he fails to do so, then we all will resign,” said Aristotle Rymbai, president of MSSASA, after an urgent meeting of the association on Wednesday evening.
Rymbai said that the teachers have not come out to the streets by choice, but were forced to sleep in the open for the past three days due to the government’s indifferent attitude towards redressal of their demands, which include the immediate release of their five months’ pending salary.
“So, please do not compel us to go for mass resignation because if all the 12,541 SSA teachers resign, elementary education in Meghalaya will collapse,” Rymbai warned.
The association’s decision came a couple of hours after the education minister came down hard on the teachers and warned them of coercive action if they don’t return to classrooms immediately.
“If they (SSA teachers) don’t resume classes, we have no option but to either issue order of ‘no work, no pay’ or withdraw the grant to the school managing committees (SMCs) for those schools which are closed in spite of repeated requests by the government,” Rymbui said.
Requesting the teachers to end their indefinite stir, the minister also reiterated that the government had complied with all the requirements and now is waiting for the Centre to release the first installment for clearing their five months’ pending salary.
Stating that the government is committed to streamline the system and take measures to ease the burden and pressure on the teachers, Rymbui admitted that there is no easy solution to this problem.
“I have also explained to them time and again that the government will not waste time if funds are released from the Centre. We have been communicating with the Education ministry in this regard, every now and then but till date, haven’t got the exact date when it will be released,” Rymbui said.
Over 6,000 of the 12,541 SSA teachers have been sleeping on the streets for the past three days as part of their ongoing indefinite sit-in to protest against the government’s alleged indifference towards redressal of their grievances.
Rymbui also informed that the Centre’s share is 90 per cent, but there is a cap of Rs 15,000 for the salary. So, the government of India pays 90 per cent of the Rs 15,000 and beyond that, the 10 per cent plus the Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000, are to be borne by the state government.
“This scheme is being extended till 2025 or 2026 and every year, the funding will be reduced by 5 per cent. So, the complication is huge, but as I said, we will not shy away from responsibilities,” said Rymbui, adding that the government has been very clear that as of now, it does not have the capacity to absorb all the teachers into the education department.
“The education department wants to reduce the categories of teachers, but this cannot be done in just one or two years as it involves a massive funding,” he said, informing that the department has exhausted its entitlement of the corpus fund as Rs 79 crore was withdrawn to meet the salary of the SSA teachers.
Earlier in the day, the MSSASA had informed that in the absence of response from the government, all SSA teachers working in schools will take leave of absence from school to participate in the peaceful protest in Shillong from Thursday.
“Teachers have every right to take leave of absence from school and from tomorrow, we will also cease to participate in all government activities such as election duty, or any other programmes,” said Rymbai, informing that the decision was taken in a meeting of the association’s general executive committee on Tuesday.
He informed that all these years, they have been attending to their duties without pay for the sake of the students, but now, they won’t as they believe the government is not taking their issues seriously. The association has also requested the parents and guardians to support their cause.
“This time, it is do or die for us. We will not be scared of any government’s plan this time,” he said, informing that support has been pouring in from the SMCs and in the coming days, they will relay their message of support through the press.
Hinting at how the government’s stance on the issue may impact the 2023 polls, Rymbai also urged fellow teachers and citizens to be wise when electing representatives.