SHILLONG, May 9: Members of the Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) were left exasperated on Monday after failing to get an audience with Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma since he was in Delhi.
FASTOM had sought an appointment with the CM on May 1 to find out the status of their demands but there was no communication from the CM’s office. In despair, they arrived outside the Main Secretariat on Monday and waited for hours before learning that the CM was not in town.
Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong informed that the CM will be in office on Tuesday. He added that senior officials at the level of the director and secretary were asked to invite the agitating ad hoc teachers for talks but they refused saying that they did not want to meet bureaucrats anymore. “I have seen media reports that they want to meet the chief minister. He will be in station tomorrow,” he said. FASTOM will resume its protest outside the Main Secretariat on Tuesday to seek an audience with the CM, failing which they will hold rallies in Shillong and Tura on May 12.
Recalling that the CM had made a commitment in 2019 to resolve all the problems faced by the ad hoc teachers, FASTOM spokesperson Mayborn Lyngdoh said three years has passed but nothing has materialised.
Lyngdoh pointed out that the teachers were aware of the state’s budgetary commitments and hence had decided to demand a salary hike of Rs 18,000 and five percent annual increment.
“We still have faith in the government that it will fulfill our demands on humanitarian ground. It has been almost one-and-half months now but nothing has fructified. We are tired,” he said.
He made it clear that the adamant attitude of the state government was not healthy for either the students or the teachers.
“It is really unfortunate that teachers are being forced to come out onto the streets when Meghalaya is celebrating 50 years of statehood. It is a shame not only the government but for each and every citizen of the state,” Lyngdoh said, while urging the government to restore the dignity of a teachers who are protesting on the streets instead of teaching inside the classrooms.
