GH secondary schools move CM, demand ad hoc grant

TURA, July 12: The problem faced by over 150 secondary schools in the state, all of which are currently receiving only the Science grant, was on Tuesday raised with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, and a request also made to also provide them the ad hoc grant at par with other ad hoc secondary schools in the state.
A memorandum in this regard on behalf of all such schools in Garo Hills, was on Tuesday submitted by one Rahmat Ali, Headmaster of the Khamari Secondary School in West Garo Hills, wherein he pointed to the financial hardships faced by these schools in maintaining them with only the Science grant since 2002.
“There are altogether 154 secondary schools in the state which are getting only the Science grant despite the fact that our services towards educating the students are at par with other schools in the state. There are around 770 teachers in these schools who are educating around 7,000 to 8,000 students per year. However, we are still being deprived of the ad hoc grant,” Ali lamented.
Lauding the recent move of the government in enhancing the salaries of the ad hoc teachers, Ali, however, said that they have been excluded from the salary hike and neither has their long-pending demand for ad hoc grant been considered. Urging the government to take into account the education of school going students, Ali sought that the matter be looked into by the government and an ad hoc grant accorded to them at the earliest.