By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 12: The Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers’ Association (KJDSTA) and the Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers’ Association (GHDSTA) met Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Wednesday to highlight several long-pending issues affecting deficit school teachers across Meghalaya.
In a joint memorandum, the associations raised four key concerns — categorisation of teachers, non-payment of dearness allowance (DA), non-implementation of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme, and technical issues with the MAXIMS online portal.
KJDSTA president Boswell S Pala said the government’s recent statement on teacher categorisation had caused “anxiety and confusion” among deficit teachers. “Things were unclear, and it left us anxious about how we would be affected. But for now, we can be quite assured by the words of the Education Minister, because he said that the deficit teachers are out of the picture for now,” Pala said. The new categorisation structure is expected to be announced by December 31 and implemented from April next year, but “will not apply to deficit teachers as of now,” he added.
On the DA issue, Pala said deficit teachers continue to receive 43% DA despite successive government revisions to 46%, 49%, and 51% for other employees. “We feel this is discrimination and a form of injustice. No technical explanation can justify the delay. We have urged the Minister to ensure our DA is enhanced at par with government servants and that arrears from last year are cleared,” he said.
The minister reportedly assured them that a meeting would be held on November 14 with the Commissioner and senior officials to address the DA issue. “We are quite positive that everything will fall in place and we will get our dues,” Pala added.
On the CPF scheme, Pala said teachers appointed before April 1, 2010, remain uncertain about their funds, which are reportedly held in a single account at the Laitumkhrah branch. “Some teachers have retired or are facing health issues but cannot withdraw their CPF. Some have even passed away without receiving their dues,” he said. The minister, he added, expressed sympathy and promised to convene a Board of Trustees meeting soon. The associations also raised concerns over the MAXIMS online portal, which they said has caused delays and missing entries. “There is a mess in the system. Some teachers’ names don’t appear on the MEGH-SIM portal, leading to delays. We have yet to receive our salaries for October,” Pala said.
According to him, the minister acknowledged the glitches and assured that the department would find a solution if the system caused delays. “While digital systems are the way forward, they should not cause unnecessary hardship,” Pala quoted the minister as saying.
