Deficit teachers in state to get pay hike, arrears

SHILLONG: Deficit teachers will receive revised salary from next month as the State Cabinet has approved their inclusion in the Fifth Pay Commission with effect from January 1, 2017.
Speaking to media persons after the Cabinet meeting, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said arrears will be paid to the deficit teachers in four installments of 25 percent each.
Reacting to a query, Rymbui said an additional amount of Rs 84 crore will be required to pay the revised salary of deficit teachers, besides Rs 126 crore for payment of arrears till June 1 this year.
Rymbui said the department would work out with the finance minister for payment of the first instalment.
On the number of deficit teachers in the state, the minister informed that in the deficit secondary school, the total number of non-teaching school is 322 while the teaching staff is 1,981.
In the deficit higher secondary school, the numbers of teaching and non-teaching staff are 129 and 57, respectively.
He further informed that the total number of teaching staff in the deficit pattern is 85 while that of non-teaching is 17.
As of now, the government had to spend around Rs 278.39 crore annually on salaries in deficit schools and with the implementation of the new pay scale, the expenditure will be more than Rs 300 crore.