Shillong, Jul 7: A delegation of the Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA) met Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui to discuss pressing issues concerning higher education in Meghalaya.
During the meeting, the association submitted a memorandum highlighting faculty vacancies, pending service matters and the growing need to strengthen teaching capacity in deficit colleges.
As part of the memorandum, the MCTA presented data collected from 10 member colleges that responded, which revealed that 41 sanctioned teaching posts remain vacant. These vacancies have significantly increased the workload of existing faculty members, constrained academic departments and have the potential to adversely affect the quality of teaching, student support and the overall functioning of colleges, the association said.
It also highlighted pending service-related matters, noting that 69 teachers continue to draw the state scale of pay despite having opted for the University Grants Commission (UGC) scale, while 25 teachers continue to await UGC scale upgradation.
The MCTA delegation also brought the minister’s attention to the long-pending issue of placement and promotion of existing faculty under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) in accordance with the norms and regulations of the UGC. More than 70 eligible faculty members across deficit colleges have not yet been granted placement or promotion despite having fulfilled all prescribed requirements under the CAS.
Other points raised included increased workload due to the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUGP) and pending dearness allowance installments.
MCTA expressed confidence that timely intervention on these issues would strengthen higher education in Meghalaya, improve institutional capacity, and enable colleges to effectively implement the reforms envisaged under the NEP 2020.
