By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 6: Members of the Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers’ Association (KJDSTA) and Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA) on Wednesday strongly objected to the Meghalaya Non-Government Schools and Colleges Employees Centralised Provident Fund (CPF) Scheme, 2026, during a meeting convened by the Education Department.
Describing the consultation as incomplete and inappropriate, the representatives walked out of the meeting at the Secretariat after Commissioner and Secretary Vijay Kumar Mantri closed the proceedings.
KJDSTA president Boswell Pala said only KJDSTA and MCTA were invited, while the Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers and Employees Association and the Meghalaya College Non-Teaching Employees Association were left out. He said excluding certain sections defeated the purpose of the meeting.
The representatives also objected to the presence of bank officials and members of the Board of Trustees, stating that the meeting was meant solely for deficit teachers and employees to present their concerns directly to the government.
“The presence of outsiders was inappropriate. We only wanted the government to listen to our concerns,” Pala said.
He also objected to what he described as repeated arbitrary reconstitution of the Board of Trustees. According to him, the Board constituted in 2023 has not yet completed its three-year term and is due to complete its tenure only later this year, but has already been reconstituted or altered three times.
Earlier, before attending the meeting, Pala told reporters at the Shillong Press Club that deficit employees had learnt through media reports that the government had called a meeting to discuss concerns over the Pension Scheme 2026.
He said the invitation referred to discussions on the Centralised Provident Fund, which the organisations understood to mean the Meghalaya Non-Government Schools and Colleges Employees Centralised Provident Fund Scheme, 2026 — a scheme they have already rejected. Pala said the organisations opposed the scheme because it had been presented as a substitute for the National Pension System (NPS) and the CPF process already initiated through office memorandums issued in 2023 and 2024. He said a separate scheme had also been framed in 2023 under the relevant Act and government notification, and the process for implementation had already begun.
“It is wrong for the government to stop that process midway and introduce an entirely different scheme,” he said.
He accused the government of creating confusion by suggesting that deficit employees had already been contributing towards CPF under the Meghalaya Provident Fund Act, 1969, and claimed the government had backtracked on its earlier decisions, notifications, and arguments placed before the High Court and Supreme Court.
Pala urged the government to immediately withdraw letters issued to schools and colleges for registration under Scheme 2026 and convene a fresh meeting with all deficit teachers and employees from across the state. He said the organisations would continue to engage through democratic means to secure their legitimate rights.
The teachers’ associations have maintained that the new scheme has created anxiety and uncertainty, especially among retired employees.
