By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 29: The state government said fulfilling the demands of teaching community will depend on the financial health of the state.
“I wish I could fulfil all the aspirations of teachers but since the state government has limited resources, it will depend on the state’s financial health,” Education Minister, Rakkam A Sangma said on Sunday.
He also said that teachers are a priority and the government will extend the best possible help to them.
Stating that there are over 55,000 teachers from elementary level to higher education in the state, Sangma said the different categories of teachers have different demands such as regularisation, deficit pattern, ad hoc grant and provincialisation.
“If we decide to look into the demand of one category of teachers, the other set of demands comes. So, we have to take everybody on board. Let’s see what we can do,” he said.
There are 12,000 SSA teachers and they are demanding regularisation. Ad hoc grant teachers are demanding deficit pattern while deficit teachers are demanding provincialisation, Sangma said.
Citing that Finland has one of the best education systems in the world due to the trust people reposed on the teachers, he said, “If every teacher does his or her work diligently in the next few years, Meghalaya will be on top in education. We are working on this.”
He appealed to teachers to give their best.
Teachers hitting the streets in support of various demands are a regular feature in the state.
Sangma said the state government will make the Captain Williamson Sangma State University operational from the next academic session.
He said the government has received the assent of the Governor for the first-ever state university with some recommendations and suggestions and the same will be looked into at the earliest.
Sangma said a search committee will be constituted for the appointment of the vice chancellor and the registrar. He said the other staff will be subsequently appointed.
In January this year, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had inaugurated the university building located at a scenic campus in Balalgre village in South West Garo Hills.
With a full-fledged university, the state will be able to bypass the Common University Entrance Test and give the colleges in the state the option to affiliate to the state university instead of the North-Eastern Hill University.