TURA, June 11: Members of the Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers’ and Employees’ Association (GHDSTEA) have decided to go on a two-day mass leave on June 12 and 13 in protest against the non release of their salaries for the previous three months.
Through a communiqué on Wednesday afternoon, the teachers expressed concern and anguish over the situation.
“Verbal instructions were issued by the respective DSEOs and SDEOs to prepare and submit salary bills with 46% Dearness Allowance (DA) which were duly accepted by the concerned offices and also acknowledged by the Directorate of School Education and Literacy, Shillong. However, despite the submission of bills and the passage of over three months, our salaries remain unpaid,” they stated.
The teachers said that during the time many of them approached various authorities, including the Chief Minister, the Education minister and the Commissioner of Education and assurances were made but the situation remained the same.
“To add to our distress, we have now received fresh verbal instructions to resubmit the bills with 43% DA – an allowance already drawn by us in the last quarter (for January and February 2025). This retroactive rollback, after a prolonged period of non-payment, has left us devastated,” they added.
The teachers added that the implications were severe for them, as they struggle with mounting financial debts, emotional distress and sleepless nights.
“It is disheartening that members of the teaching community are now being subjected to such humiliation and neglect. While we have always stood by our students and never wished for their education to be disrupted due to our challenges, the financial crisis we are facing is pushing us to the brink. In these circumstances, it will become nearly impossible to conduct the forthcoming half-yearly examinations, which would unfairly affect the students,” added the teachers.
The deficit teachers urged the government and the concerned department to release their pending first quarter salaries at the earliest, with the duly deserved 46% DA, as previously instructed.
“This is not only a matter of financial necessity but also a call for justice and dignity for teachers who have tirelessly served their schools and communities,” they said.
“We are going on mass casual leave to register our deep resentment and to protest this unacceptable attitude to our collective grievances. We also inform all unit secretaries that future proceedings on the matter will be communicated after a general meeting in a while,” the communiqué added.
