Ad hoc teachers are entitled to request for an increment in their salaries but the issue should not be taken advantage of by political parties, East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh has said.
The Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM), which represents ad hoc teachers, has been on indefinite round-the-clock protests in Shillong and Tura. They are seeking a pay hike and guaranteed 5 percent increment every year, with the ultimate goal of being brought into the deficit category.
A former teacher herself and one-time Education Minister, Lyngdoh said that the issue has been around for several years as the teachers have not had a salary review since 2016.
“It has been the practice of the government in the past to, from time to time, review the salary of the teachers in various categories, so we need to ask if this government has been engaging along these lines,” she said.
While appreciating the demands of the teachers, she felt it annoying that certain politicians and parties, who are not in government, have been speaking with the teachers and promising to sort out their issues. The opposition Trinamool Congress has paid visits to the protesting teachers last week in Shillong.
“There is no harm for any politician to go and give encouragement to the teachers but to speak like they are in any position of command, to sort out the issues of the teachers, is very annoying and disturbing,” she said, adding that she too met the teachers yesterday evening and told them that she will try to bridge the gap between them and the government but made it clear that she is not in a position to promise them that their demands will be met.
