Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui today informed the Assembly that a study is underway to understand the demands of the SSA teachers and their feasibility.
Replying to a notice tabled by Mawsynram MLA Himalaya Shangpliang, Rymbui informed that the State Education Mission Authority of Meghalaya (SEMAM) will revisit the proposal for enhancement of salary.
Rymbui said that to absorb the SSA teachers as regular government teachers, the state government will require not less than Rs 567.644 crore annually to meet the higher salary bill.
Moving the notice, Shangpliang urged the government to consider the SSA teachers’ demands for enhancement of salaries.
He stated that, as per the state’s rules under the Right to Education Act 2009, it is inferred that the teachers recruited and appointed for implementing the provision of the act shall have pay and allowances at par with regular teachers of the state.
Meanwhile, the minister said that there is also a need to look at the issue of how these schools are run.
Rymbui explained that many schools would have to be closed down because they do not adhere to the pupil-teacher ratio as determined by the RTE Act. Whether the schools’ managing committees are willing to hand over control of the institutions to the government is another factor.
