Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui today defended the enhancement for ad hoc teachers’ pay, which will cost the state an extra Rs 100 crore per year, saying that the decision in yesterday’s cabinet struck a balance between the teachers and the needs of different departments.
He maintained that the state is not in the best financial position, an assertion questioned by many quarters given the lavish amounts the government is able to spend on other subjects.
“More than 600 schools in the state come everyday requesting for grant-in-aid,” Rymbui said, referring to the freeze, since 2012, in granting ad hoc status to new schools. “So, it is not easy. The decision taken yesterday was a very balanced one.”
The ad hoc teachers had been protesting over a demand for an immediate salary hike and commitment from the government for a guaranteed hike of 5 percent annually. The cabinet did not approve the latter and it proposed hikes of varying amounts dependent on the type of teacher; the ad hoc teachers’ union, FASTOM, had wanted a uniform increase.
Rymbui said that school management committees will have to be accountable for all the money they receive from the government. Despite them being private schools, they will have to account for all the state money they receive.
