SHILLONG, July 3: The indefinite sit-in by the ad hoc teachers at the parking lot near the Additional Secretariat completed six days on Sunday. The teachers had launched their agitation outside the Main Secretariat on June 28.
The Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) spokesperson Mayborn Lyngdoh said the ad hoc teachers will not budge or withdraw their agitation until the government provides them with the official order on the enhancement of their salaries.
He said there has been no further communication from the state government after Friday’s meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong.
Meghalaya Pradesh Trinamool Congress president Charles Pyngrope urged the state government to fulfil the demand of the ad hoc teachers at the earliest.
“The government should ensure that the demands of the teachers are met as soon as possible. I have often raised the teachers’ issues in the Assembly,” he said.
Pyngrope trashed speculations that a political agenda was driving the ad hoc teachers’ agitation. “Enhancement of salaries is their only agenda,” he said.
Suspended Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh said immediate intervention in the ongoing teachers’ agitation was expected.
“There is also an urgent need to attend to welfare measures for the ad hoc teachers,” she said.
She said it has now also become necessary for school managing committees across the state to undertake welfare schemes for such teachers.
“In my interaction with the agitating groups of teachers, I was made to understand that the most important demand is an increase in the assistance to school MCs for the salaries of the teachers that have stagnated since 2016. The price rise has indeed impacted their lives,” she said.
Lyngdoh said the agitating teachers also underscored the need for teachers to attend refresher courses made available to the regular government teachers.
Apart from seeking an improvement in the course design to meet national standards, the ad hoc teachers expressed concern over the implementation of the New Education Policy.
