By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 21: Non-teaching staff under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) have not yet received the pay hike due to them, VPP MLA Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said during the short duration discussion in the Assembly here on Wednesday.
Raising the matter, the VPP legislator said he has gone through petitions by non-teaching staff submitted to the State Education Mission Authority of Meghalaya (SEMAM), now under SSA.
He said there are more than 400 non-teaching staff under the SSA.
Numerous letters has been written to the state project director of SEMAM expressing concern over the delay in releasing their enhancement in pay.
The Finance department, Ardent said, had written to the Education department to ensure that there is no variation in the remuneration and perk facilities of the contractual employees that are recruited under various societies, agencies, authorities, boards, missions and organisations.
Apart from SSA, non-teaching staff in other organisation, agencies and authorities have already received their enhancement in their salaries, he said.
He sought the speedy implementation of the enhancement of their salaries.
REGULARISATION AND ARREARS
Basaiawmoit also mentioned that the SSA teachers for a long time have been appealing to the state government to regularise their services at par with government salaries.
“The state government is keeping mum. The salaries of the SSA teachers have also not been enhanced for a long time,” Ardent, who is also the VPP chief, said.
According to him, the SSA teachers are facing several hardships with banks starting to reject their loan applications.
The teachers’ arrears have also not been cleared, the VPP chief said.
He cast aspersions on the Education department for engaging a person above 70 years of age as a Financial Consultant under the SSA despite facing severe financial constraints.
Replying to the various concerns, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma said that the total strength of the non-teaching staff under SSA in Meghalaya is 1,241, and the annual expenditure on payment of their salaries amounts to Rs 12.72 crore.
The minister told the concerned member that the department is committed to provide the salary enhancement to the non-teaching staff.
The proposal for enhancement of the salaries was submitted to the Finance department. “We are still waiting to get the approvals,” the Education minister said.
According to Sangma, the existing annual budget for salaries is Rs 12.78 crore and the revised annual budget is Rs 23 crore — making a leap of Rs 10.22 crore.
Apprehensive about how long the SSA programme will continue, the government is looking at all financial implications. “We foresee a huge burden to the state exchequer if the Centre decides to hand over the SSA teachers to the state government,” the minister said.
Sangma also informed the House that the state government has already released salaries of the SSA teachers in advance as per the directive of the High Court of Meghalaya.
“We will be releasing the arrears of the SSA teachers in due course of time,” Sangma informed.