SHILLONG: Addressing the manifold demands of the teaching community in Meghalaya, Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma highlighted that the feasibility of meeting these demands depends on the financial condition of the state.
With over 55,000 teachers spanning various categories, Meghalaya confronts an assortment of demands from its teaching professionals, surrounding issues such as regularisation, ad hoc grant, deficit pattern, and provincialisation.
“While the intent of the government is to meet every teacher’s aspiration, our limited resources coupled with the state’s financial constraints put us in a challenging spot,” Sangma told the press on Saturday.
His comments were in reaction to the recent ultimatum set by the Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM), which is pushing for all ad hoc schools to transition to the deficit system by April 30, 2024.
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Despite the fiscal challenges, Sangma reiterated the government’s commitment to the educators of the state.
“Teachers remain our topmost priority. Our intent is to be as accommodating as possible, but with every category presenting unique demands, it becomes a challenge to be equitable,” he explained.
The diverse demands of teachers, such as the SSA teachers seeking regularisation and the ad hoc teachers aiming for the deficit pattern, only further complicate the situation. The minister candidly expressed that acceding to all of these demands would financially overburden the state.
However, in a reassuring tone, he mentioned the government’s proactive steps over the past five years. “We’ve augmented the ad hoc grants for secondary level educators and even doubled the salaries for pre-primary teachers and cook-cum-helpers,” he said.
In a recent announcement, Sangma had shared that the process to fill teaching positions in lower and upper primary schools is anticipated to wrap up by Christmas.
Post discussions with a delegation from the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC), he divulged that interviews for Meghalaya Teachers’ Eligibility Test (MTET)-qualified candidates would commence from November 15. The recruitment drive will aim to address the 1,200 vacancies in government lower primary schools and an additional 300-400 in upper primary schools, he had informed.
