SHILLONG, May 5: The Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) on Thursday alleged the state government is trying to dodge its demands despite a commitment by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in August 2019 to address the various deficiencies of the ad hoc schools.
FASTOM spokesperson, Mayborn Lyngdoh said Sangma had also assured that the government would enhance the salaries of the ad hoc teachers. Their salaries have not been hiked since 2016.
Lyngdoh said Education Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui’s inability to provide details on the financial implications to enhance the salaries only suggests he is clueless about the state’s financial position.
He said the federation will share the details of the state’s revenue collection and why it is not fulfilling the demands.
“We have collected detailed information on the financial position. We know the government is in a position to enhance our salaries,” Lyngdoh said.
The government is ready to invest on infrastructure development of schools but not on the people responsible for imparting education to the students, he said.
“What is the use of having good school buildings without a teacher to teach the students?” Lyngdoh asked.
Further, he said the leaders of FASTOM will meet on Friday to discuss the government’s failure in giving it in writing to the federation that it is actively examining the demands.
Earlier, the federation had threatened to launch a more aggressive movement from May 10 if the government remains silent.
The ad hoc teachers are demanding enhancement of their salaries by Rs 18,000 besides a 5% increment of salaries every year.
Earlier, Rymbui had stated: “We will commit to enhancing the salaries within our capacity. We want to ensure that the question of not releasing the salaries for three to four months will not arise anymore.”
Asked about a week’s deadline set by the FASTOM to the government seeking a written assurance that it is examining the demands of the teachers, Rymbui had said the government is still examining the matter and there is a need to trust each other.
“Mistrust will take us nowhere. Trust is very important. No issues can be solved overnight,” he had stated.
