Shillong, Oct 16: The Meghalaya Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Schools Association (MSSASA) met with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today to discuss the state government’s proposal to take over SSA schools and implement a payment structure for SSA teachers.
According to MSSASA president Aristotle Rymbai, the CM assured the delegation that SSA teachers will not lose their jobs even after the SSA programme ends at the end of this financial year.
The SSA scheme is central government-sponsored but the state government is in the process of merging the SSA schools with the state education system for when the central support ends.
Teachers have been wary of cuts, especially as many SSA schools have few students. The fear was that rationalisation of the schools might lead to job losses.
Today’s meeting was chaired by Sangma and attended by the Education Minister and officials from the Education Department. Rymbai described the meeting as a positive one.
“We are thankful to the CM and Education Minister for making it clear that the government will protect the service of SSA teachers,” he said.
Regarding enhancement of salaries, Rymbai stated that the CM informed that this will be implemented in the form of a payment scale structure. The association plans to share the meeting’s details with all SSA teachers in a general meeting to be convened soon.
