SHILLONG, April 1: Education Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui has ruled out the upgrading of teachers from the ad hoc to the deficit system.
The Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) has been demanding such an upgrade.
“The demand to upgrade the ad hoc category of teachers to the deficit system will never materialise since the state government does not have any such plan,” Rymbui said.
But the government is preparing the modalities for enhancing the salaries of the ad hoc teachers, he added.
He hoped the teachers will appreciate the step taken by the government.
The present monthly salary for an ad hoc teacher in Lower Primary (LP) schools is Rs 12,000. The pay for an ad hoc head teacher and assistant teacher in upper primary (UP) schools is Rs 18,000 and Rs 16,000 respectively.
An ad hoc teacher in secondary schools gets Rs 20,000 a month.
The present monthly salary became effective on September 1, 2016.
Earlier, the monthly salary was Rs 6,000 for an ad hoc teacher in LP schools. For ad hoc teachers of UP schools, the salary was Rs 9,000 for a head teacher and Rs 8,000 for an assistant teacher while an ad hoc teacher in secondary schools received Rs 10,000 per month.
Rymbui also said Rs 68 crore had recently been released from the state share to the State Education Mission Authority of Meghalaya for paying two months’ pending salaries of the SSA teachers.
“We were informed in Delhi recently that the Centre will soon release another Rs 68 crore. This amount will enable us to pay another four months’ pending salaries of the SSA teachers,” he said.