Ad hoc school teachers under the banner of the Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) have threatened to strike and boycott their school duties if the state government persists in ignoring their demands.
Speaking to Highland Post, D Marwein, the FASTOM vice-president informed that there has been no communication from the government side. Ad hoc teachers want a pay increase and to be brought under the deficit funding system.
“We will wait for all the examinations to be complete before we intensify our agitation programme because we do not want to complicate things for the parents and our beloved students,” he said.
Marwein said that, in the minutes of a meeting held on January 18, the ad hoc teachers had proposed to first give a uniform grant of Rs 18,000 to all categories of ad hoc teachers, right from lower primary to the higher secondary levels before the upgradation happens gradually.
“The government said that it will examine our proposal made on January 18 but nothing was processed to date. This is the reason we want the government to invite us for talks and give us in writing and make clear whatever their intentions are,” he said.
The union leader slammed Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui for dismissing the possibility of an upgrade to the deficit system, which will cost the government crores in extra funding. FASTOM, Marwein said, understands that the upgrade will have to be done gradually and not in one go, so Rymbui’s statement is meaningless.
With SSA teachers also protesting over pay, the FASTOM leader feared that, if the current state of education in the state persists, Meghalaya will not be able to attract people to the teaching profession.
