TURA: Teachers from Garo Hills working in government-aided schools have demanded equal pay to that of their counterparts working in Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) schools.
In their memorandum submitted under the banner of the Meghalaya Upper Primary School Teachers’ Association (MUPSTA) to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the teachers lamented that SSA school teachers are receiving Rs 20,497/- per month as salary, as against their current salary amount of Rs 16,000/-, although some government aided schools have been established way back in the 50s and functioning longer than SSA schools.
“This is unfair as there are many professionally trained teachers working in government aided schools. We demand ‘equal work for equal pay’. This principle must be extended to the government aided employees as well,” they said.
The MUPSTA has since long been demanding the up-gradation of their services. But other than assurance by the government, nothing else has been done to fulfill their demands.
Earlier, the teachers were paid a meager salary of Rs 8000 only. In June this year, the government enhanced the salaries of teachers in all categories. However, government-aided school teachers fell behind and ended up getting less than their counterparts in SSA schools.
A copy of their memorandum has also been submitted to the Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister.