The indefinite sit-in by adhoc school teachers entered the third day today as teachers sat on the roadside outside the Secretariat waiting for the government to fulfill their demand.
The teachers are protesting in Shillong and Tura for higher salaries and a guaranteed 5 per cent annual hike.
The youth wing of the Khun Hynñiewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has attacked the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government for not keeping its promises to the ad hoc teachers of the state.
KHNAM youth wing leader Thomas Passah described the MDA as childish for not adhering to its promises.
Stating that the government had assured in writing that the grievances faced by the teachers will be resolved after three cabinet meetings, Passah reminded the government of a Supreme Court ruling on equal pay for equal work.
“We condemn and demand the government fulfill the assurance it gave to the teachers on May 22,” he added.
The Hynñiewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) too has come out totally on the side of the ad hoc teachers of the state, saying that the state government does not value education.
HITO president Donbok Dkhar today said that the government is behaving shamefully towards the teachers, who have worked so hard to enable students to achieve good marks in the SSLC and HSSLC exams.
“It is sad to see the government has little respect for teachers and it seems that this government … has turned deaf ears towards the teachers’ demand,” he added.
Yesterday, members of the pressure group visited protesting teachers here and handed out bottled water and snacks.
Dkhar pledged that HITO will stand united with the teachers until the government meets their demands.
Street vendors and hawkers under the banner of the Meghalaya and Greater Shillong Progressive Hawkers and Street Vendors Association extended their support to the teachers. The associations said there is a need for the working classes to unite and fight to secure their rights.
Meanwhile, the Voice of the People Party (VPP) said the MDA Government has failed to keep its promise to the teaching community to get their salary enhanced.
“This exposes the failure of the Conrad Sangma administration whose party had already promised to improve education in the State during the last election,” VPP general secretary Ricky Syngkon in a statement said.
Demanding for a whitepaper on how the government plans to solve the problems faced by the teaching community in the state, the party said teachers cannot be subjected to ‘slavish service’ conditions.
