By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 7: Supporting the agitating SSA non-teaching staff seeking a salary hike, the Opposition TMC on Wednesday stated that Meghalaya’s education system ranks among the lowest in the country, while asking the NPP-led MDA government, which claims education as its top priority, to restore Shillong’s past glory.
Pointing out that the SSA non-teaching staff have been staging a sit-in for nearly a week, demanding a salary increment, which they have not received in almost eight years since the last hike in 2016, TMC youth president Fernandez S Dkhar, said, “According to sources, the NPP-led MDA government granted a minuscule increment of 0.034% for BRPs/CRPs in 2023, raising the salary from Rs 20,493 to Rs 20,500. This is quite laughable from a government that claims education is its top priority”.
Recalling that under the previous government led by Dr Mukul Sangma, there were significant salary increments for SSA staff, he said, “Within a few months of becoming Chief Minister in 2010, Dr Sangma raised salaries from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000, a 100% increase. In 2013, salaries were raised from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,900, a 65% increase, and in 2016, from Rs 9900 to Rs. 20493, a 107% increase”.
Dkhar pointed out that these increments applied not only to office staff and non-teaching staff but to more than 12,000 SSA lower and upper primary teachers as well.
“Similarly, within three months of his tenure, Dr Sangma increased the salary of ad-hoc teachers for LPs, UPs, and Secondary levels three times in eight years”.
Drawing parallels with current Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma, the TMC youth president said, “In contrast, the incumbent has granted only one increment during his tenure, a 32% increase for ad hoc teachers in 2022. Hopefully, the current NPP-led MDA government, especially the CM, will not merely make empty promises but take concrete actions to prioritise education as they claimed before coming to power in 2018,” he added.
“The six plus years of Conrad Sangma’s tenure with the MDA 1.0 and 2.0, as part of the Double Engine Sarkar (BJP), should have seen much more development compared to Mukul Sangma’s government, which had approximately 3 years and 9 months when the Congress was in power both at the Centre and state,” Dkhar remarked.