Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
Teachers of the Samagra Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) have threatened to launch an indefinite dharna at the Additional Secretariat parking lot from July 18 if the government fails to fulfil their demands by July 15.
Aristotle Rymbai, president of the All Meghalaya SSA Teachers Association (AMSSATA), said that the association had unanimously taken a decision in this regard in their last general executive committee on June 25, 2022, and had set July 15 as a deadline for the government to give in to their demands.
“If the government fails to fulfil our demands on or before July 15, then on July 18, we have decided to launch an indefinite dharna at Additional Secretariat parking lot starting from 11:30 am,” Rymbai said.
Rymbai also informed that their dharna will be a peaceful protest against the “adamant attitude” of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.
The SSA teachers have been threatening to launch agitation to put pressure on the government to clear their pending salary for the months of February and March of the last financial year 2020-21 and for the months of April, May and June in the 2022-23 financial year.
The teachers also want salary enhancement of those teaching in the Lower Primary and Upper Primary under SSA in the state and have been demanding more provision for SSA teachers in the state budget.
Their last demand is for shifting of all the existing SSA teachers from State Implementation Society to State Education Department on a regular basis as per provision of SSA Right To Education norms.
Earlier on July 5, the teachers had met Education minister Lahkmen Rymbui and sought his intervention on the matter. Post the meeting, Rymbui had said that he explained to them the sequence of events in the past two to three months and how the government is awaiting funds from the Centre to pay of the teachers.