SSA demands unheard in House, School Teachers Association calls Rymbui "irresponsible and incompetent"
The association expects the government to fulfill the three demands on or before September 30, 2021, failing which all 12,541 SSA teachers in the state will be on mass casual leave on October 11 and 12, 2021 as a sign of protest.
The Meghalaya Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) School Teachers Association expressed shock that their demands were not discussed on the last day of the Assembly's Autumn Session because of the absence of Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui, even though Himalaya Muktan, Member of Legislative Assembly, Mawsynram, aired the teachers' grievances and asked the government to clarify its stance on their welfare.
On September 14, the SSA teachers held a sit-in demonstration protest in Shillong, urging the government to address three demands: creation and merging of all the 12,541 SSA teachers from the State Implementation Society to State Education Department on a regular basis, as per provision of the Right to Education Act, 2009; implementation of pay structure and to enhance the salary of all SSA teachers; and to release all pending salaries to SSA teachers for the months of June, July and August 2021.
During the sit-in, a delegation of the Opposition visited the teachers, and assured to take up their issue on the floor of the House. However, in the absence of Rymbui, the matter could not be discussed.
President of the School Teachers Association Aristotle C. Rymbai said, "We the SSA teachers are expecting to see a positive response from the education minister", but expressed disappointment at the minister's absence in the House, calling Rymbui "irresponsible and incompetent".
The association expects the government to fulfill the three demands on or before September 30, 2021, failing which all 12,541 SSA teachers in the state will be on mass casual leave on October 11 and 12, 2021 as a sign of protest.
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