Shillong, Sep 17: Bowing to intense pressure from teacher bodies and the Opposition, the Meghalaya government on Thursday withdrew its controversial August 12 notification that allowed vacancies under the State Pay Scale to be filled through the Structured Pay Framework (SPF) up to 2027-28.
The withdrawal order, issued by Commissioner & Secretary Vijay Kumar Mantri, stated that the earlier order had caused “apprehensions and confusion amongst various stakeholders including government teachers, deficit teachers and aspiring candidates regarding the future of sanctioned posts and the deficit system.”
Seeking to do damage control, the notification clarified: “It is clarified that the Notification dated 12.08.2026 did not imply replacement of the deficit system by SPF, abolition of any sanctioned Government/deficit post, or alteration of service conditions of existing teachers.”
It added that the SPF provision was “only a temporary arrangement to meet immediate teaching requirements through SEMAM while keeping the sanctioned posts intact.”
The climbdown follows opposition from political parties, student bodies, and teacher associations over concerns of unequal pay and contract-based recruitment.
The opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) had termed it “anti-teacher, anti-student, and anti-education” and even demanded the removal of Mantri, citing serious uncertainty and confusion caused by the SPF and school rationalization policies.
The Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers’ Association (KJDSTA) and the Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers and Employees Association termed the order arbitrary that would weaken the deficit system and cripple education.
