SSA teachers call off indefinite protest after Govt agrees to release 4 months’ pending salary

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 21, 2022

SSA teachers on Thursday called off their indefinite protest after the state government’s decision to release their four months pending salary.

This was after a meeting was called by the Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong with the delegation of the Meghalaya SSA Schools Association (MSSASA).

“I have communicated that the government will release the pending salary of four months out of five months next week and the remaining one month will be released only when the fund from the Government of India is received by the state government,” Tynsong told reporters.

He said the state government will release the pending salary capping norms amounting to Rs 44.0 crore by the end of the day.

He said that the state government will also replenish the Corpus Fund of Rs 78.0 crore which will be refunded when the first installment is received from the Centre and the Education department will send the proposal by the end of the day.

The above amount will be able to cater to the payment of four months pending salaries of the teachers as soon as the amount is credited to the SNA account and in any case not later than July 27. The remaining one-month salary will be paid on receipt of funds from the Government of India, he said.

The deputy chief minister said a State Education Commission will soon be constituted at the earliest and the modalities and draft policy is ready for preparation of the cabinet memorandum.

“The enhancement of salary shall be appropriately addressed by the Education Commission for all categories of teachers and the term of reference will also include other pending issues pertaining to teachers,” he said.

To avoid the delay in payment of salaries in the future, the stated that a system will be devised to ensure that the salaries are released on time and in any case the delay should not be beyond a quarter.

Meanwhile, the MSSASA has expressed satisfaction after the state government had issued a written assurance to release their pending salary.

“The state government has agreed to release our four months’ salary by July 27. Therefore, we have decided to call off our agitation for now,” MSSASA president Aristotle Rymbai said after the general executive council meeting held at the protest venue near the additional secretariat.

“However, if the state government fails to fulfil its promises, we will have no other option but to resume our indefinite protest,” he said.

Rymbai also thanked all the NGOs and concerned citizens who have extended their unconditional support to the teachers during the four-day protest.