By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Education, Prof RC Laloo, on Wednesday reiterated the Government’s commitment to addressing the problems faced by teachers in the State.
“The Government has always been responsive to the problems of the teaching community,” Prof Laloo said while replying to a cut motion moved by GNC legislator Clifford R Marak in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Prof Laloo pointed out that paucity of funds was one of the major hurdles for the department in addressing the teachers’ woes.
Stating that the Education Department is not a revenue earning department, Prof Laloo said that 75 per cent of the budgetary allocation meant for the department is spent on salaries.
The Deputy Chief Minister also stated that the Education department was one of the largest employers in the State.
Providing figures, he said that the budgetary allocation of the department from both the State and Central schemes in 2011-12 was Rs 1329 crores out of which Rs 730 crore was for Plan and Non Plan, Rs 449 crore for SSA and Rs 150 crore for mid-day meal scheme.
“This in itself indicates that a major share of the State’s annual plan is spent only in the Education sector. The figures are also a reflection that the Government has not neglected the Education sector,” Prof Laloo said.
Quoting the official figures on the amount spent on each category of schools in the State, Deputy Chief The Minister also provided the break-up of the expenditures incurred on schools, saying that Rs 24.09 crore was spent on government secondary schools, Rs 9.44 crore for government higher secondary schools, Rs 83.99 crore for deficit secondary schools, Rs 13.30 crore for deficit higher secondary schools, Rs 7.60 crore for ad hoc secondary schools and Rs 5.64 lakh for deficit pattern secondary schools.
“The expenditures indicate that only 15 per cent of the budget allocation goes to Government owned schools while the rest of the funds are spent on grant-in-aids to private schools,” Prof Laloo said.
He, however, informed that the department has streamlined the disbursement of salaries to the teachers in the State.
Informing that it is mandatory for the school managing committees to submit the Utilization Certificates (UCs) every quarter year, he said that they have now introduced a new system where the salaries of the teachers would continue to be release provided that the UCs are submitted before the end of the last quarter of the fiscal year.
“The UCs would have to be submitted within the last quarter so that teachers can avail salaries for January and February,” Prof Laloo said.
Prof Laloo also said that implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act in the State will bring major changes in the education sector.
Earlier, moving the motion, Chokpot legislator Clifford Marak (Independent) pointed out the discrimination in the appointment of teachers in the State.
“Why can’t rules and regulations be applied equally throughout the State,” the Chokpot MLA questioned.
Marak informed that in Ampati district Lower Primary School, teachers are appointed for 89 days while elsewhere teachers under the same category are given contractual appointment for only 59 days.
He also wanted the Government to appoint these teachers for atleast one year if they cannot be permanently appointed.
Sohra legislator Titosstarwell Chyne (UDP) who also participated in the cut motion urged the Government to introduce the Science stream in Sohra Government College.
According to Chyne the College was been provincialized in 2008 but the College runs only the Arts stream. He also appealed to the Government to sanction funds for a college building.