SSA teachers can expect little relief to their struggles for pending salaries to be paid if today’s statement by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is anything to go by.
While the state government sympathises with the plight of the SSA teachers, Sangma said that the salaries are paid by the central government as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a programme started and run by the Centre.
It is not only in Meghalaya where SSA teachers are facing delays in the payment of their salaries, he added, but it is a nationwide problem due to the financial difficulties that the Centre is experiencing because of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors.
On the issue of regularising the teachers, the CM also laid the responsibility at the door of the Centre. While he would like to see regularisation occur, the direction for this, including a commitment to pay for the added costs, will have to come from the central government.
