The State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backed protesting SSA teachers over their demands for pending salary disbursal through a press communiqué today.
The BJP alleged that the money meant for the salaries of SSA teachers has already been deposited with the state but the government was delaying payment to the affected teachers.
Yesterday SSA teachers in Garo Hills conducted a sit-in over non-payment of their salaries for the past four months.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that no one should face any difficulty or be deprived of the facilities provided by the Centre but in Meghalaya the central schemes were not implemented properly which we cannot ignore,” said party spokesperson, Bernard Marak.
Marak added that if the state continued to be reluctant in following the central government’s directives, the BJP will take it up with the PM’s office.
“The SSA teachers, as well as primary teachers, should be treated with dignity and their dues should be cleared in time as education is a priority. People of all walks of life have been badly affected (by the Covid-19 pandemic) and teachers have had to struggle to find ways to provide education to our children,” added Marak.
The BJP argued that it was the responsibility of the state leaders to clear the dues of the teachers immediately as the money has already been released from the Centre.
“We want the concerned authorities to look into the matter without delay, failing which we will have to inform the PM’s Office. Centrally-sanctioned funds should not be diverted and we expect the state government to release the dues of the teachers without further delay,” he demanded.
