SHILLONG: State Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Monday said issues of teachers cannot be resolved at one go but the department will find ways and means to address these.
Stating that teachers should understand that the department works under constraints, he said, “Work is in progress as the issues cannot be resolved at one go. They have to understand the constraints. We all work for the benefit of the people.”
Stating that teachers, students, managing committees and governing bodies are stakeholders of education, he said the department is also looking into the demands of the ad hoc teachers, SSA teachers, lump sum grant for teachers, scholarship for students, deficit colleges etc.
“If the demand or the work is pending, it does not mean it is forgotten. We are working under constraints. Their issues are not baseless. It is my endeavour to solve the teachers’ problems. We are not sleeping,” he said. It may be mentioned that the Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers Association (KJDSTA) and Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers and Employees Association (GHDSTEA) will wear black ribbons on Teachers’ Day as a symbol of their disappointment with the state government for not fulfilling their demands.
The organisations have demanded enhancement of Death-Cum- Retirement Gratuity (DCRG) arguing that the limit for deficit school teachers has been Rs 3.5lakh for the past 11 years even though the Meghalaya Fifth Pay Commission has fixed Rs 10 lakh as the limit.
Again, one of the immediate demands of the organisations is release of the 2nd installment of arrears of revised pay and release of another 25 per cent of the arrears (2nd installment) before Teachers’ Day on September 5.
