The All Meghalaya Ad Hoc Lower Primary School Teachers Association (AMAHLPSTA) has expressed concern over the discrepancy in the number of ad-hoc primary schools in the state.
According to AMAHLPSTA President RS Khardewsaw, the records of the Directorate of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) list 558 such schools in Meghalaya but another government notification states that there are 1,225 such schools.
When asked if the 667 others are ghost schools, Khardewsaw said that this is for the Education Department to answer. He threatened to take the matter to court if the government cannot provide a satisfactory answer.
Meanwhile, AMAHLPSTA also alleged that Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui is refusing to meet with its representatives.
“We have been trying to meet him since 2018 and we have sent many reminders but to no avail,” Khardewsaw said. “This month we spoke to him on the phone but he told us that he was not in Shillong.”
The association’s members said that they want to meet Rymbui personally to urge him to enhance their salary, which, according to the teachers, is too low when considering the rate of inflation. Preferably the teachers would like the ad-hoc primary schools to be brought under the deficit system. However, if this is not feasible then they would like a salary increase of Rs 18,000 to Rs 30,000.
