By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 17: Asserting that every citizen in the country has a democratic right to participate in politics, former minister and Chief Adviser to the CM, AL Hek on Friday said teachers should be encouraged to get actively involved in mainstream politics.
“We need good people in politics. We need to stop the unhealthy trend of corrupt people entering politics,” Hek said while reacting to the recent notification issued by the government barring teachers, lecturers and professors from joining politics.
“Why we are talking only about the teachers. The ground reality is that many other government employees are taking part in politics. Why bar only the teachers?” he said. Congress leader, RG Lyngdoh also questioned the decision of the MDA Government to bar teachers from partaking in the election process, saying that it does not make any sense.
Referring to Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma’s statement that teachers should concentrate on teaching, Lyngdoh observed that those who are teaching now are not paid their dues while those who get their salaries are paid peanuts.
“If the government feels a sense of responsibility towards education and teachers, then they should ensure that the minimum wages paid to teachers is in keeping with the modern day cost of living,” Lyngdoh said.
Teachers are the lowest paid group of employees, and nobody seems to care, he said, while asking the government to ensure that teachers are paid regularly.
Lyngdoh said that if teachers are involved in the pre-election process of enumeration and are also deputed as polling officers then there is no reason why they should be denied their electoral right of participating in the election process.
