By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Sending out a loud message against the unwavering stance of the State Government in overlooking their long-pending demands, school and colleges teachers under the umbrella of the Joint Action Committee of All Teachers’ Associations of Meghalaya (JACATAM) have decided to continue their agitation even as the State government has directed them to “refrain” from agitation.
The decision was taken at a meeting of JACATAM held on Saturday.
“We have decided intensify agitation to protest the indifferent attitude of the state government,” JACATAM chairman ED Nongsiang told reporters after the meeting here.
Earlier,Government through a press release had urged the teachers to refrain from taking any action and that only reasonable issues would be examined and considered.
“We are not accepting this request since there is no official communication from the government to us in this regard,” Nongsiang said.
“Putting a condition that only those issues which it (government) finds reasonable will be discussed, sheds light on the non-serious position of the State Government,” he said.
According to Nogsiang, talks, if initiated, should be ‘unconditional” while stressing that teachers wanted assurance from the policy makers and not from government officials.
Informing that the meeting also resolved to the go ahead with the first phase of the agitation, he said, “We will go ahead with a mass casual leave on September 3 to be followed by sit-in-demonstrations (dharnas) at 23 zones in the eleven districts of the State on September 4.”
The JACATAM has also decided to boycott the Teachers Day celebration on September 5 and has instead decided to hold a protest rally at Malki ground in the capital city with over 14,000 teachers participating from primary level to college level.
“We have requested all the teachers not to attend any official function organized by the government,” he said while informing that teachers selected for the different awards on that day, have also been asked not to accept the State recognition.
Nogsiang also informed that the next phase of agitation would be announced on September 5, if the State government fails to invite teachers for talks.
JACATAM’s main issues are provincialization of services of the teachers, education policy, uniform salary, MBOSE related issues besides others.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya Upper Primary School Teachers’ Association (MUPSTA) has extended support to JACATAM.