SHILLONG, May 10: The Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) has given time till 3 pm of Wednesday to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to meet its members and update them on the status of its demands.
The teachers’ body is planning to meet journalists at 3 pm on Wednesday and brief them on its proposed rally in Shillong and Tura on Thursday.
The federation has been seeking an appointment of the CM since May 1. It staged a protest near the Main Secretariat for the second straight day on Tuesday to seek an audience with the CM but he was busy attending festivals and wedding.
The CM was in Laskein in West Jaintia Hills on Tuesday to attend the first ever Lakadong Festival.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had informed the federation on Tuesday evening that it could arrange a meeting with senior officials of the Education department. However, FASTOM spokesperson, Mayborn Lyngdoh said it is futile to meet the bureaucrats.
He said the matter is now with the Finance and Planning departments for approval. Both departments are looked after by the CM.
Lyngdoh said the best option for the federation is to directly meet the CM since he can provide accurate information on the status of the demands. He said the CMO told him it is waiting for an appropriate date to arrange for a meeting with the chief minister.
The chief minister, on Tuesday said fulfilling the demands of the ad hoc teachers would entail financial implications, running into hundreds of crores.
Sangma said this is a long-pending issue and one just cannot take a decision given the COVID situation and financial challenges.
He said the government will have to look into the matter since it involves financial implications of hundreds of crores of rupees and any decision might affect the other sectors. It is not a simple decision, he said.
The teachers are livid that he is not giving time to them but Sangma said he has met them a number of times and there were similar discussions.
“We would like to see something concrete coming up. I have asked the department to look at all options and it is preparing something. Once I have a meeting with the officials and see the options, I will call the Finance department to know the financial implications. After seeing the options, I will call them for discussions,” the CM said.
The FASTOM is demanding a hike of salaries of the ad hoc teachers by Rs 18,000 besides a 5% increment every year.
