It will finally be a merry Christmas for over 12K SSA teachers in Meghalaya

Shillong: After months of protests by teachers in Meghalaya, the Central government finally released funds to the tune of Rs 158 crore for the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) on Tuesday.

Appreciating receipt of the funds, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma tweeted, “I would like to express my gratitude to the @EduMinOfIndia for the release of the SSA funds yesterday which will cover the pending salaries of the teachers in our State. The Dept. is now working for release of the same to the districts at the earliest.”

12,541 teachers associated with SSA in Meghalaya have not been paid their dues since August this year. The SSA teachers, under the umbrella of Meghalaya SSA Schools Association (MSSASA), had decided to launch a ‘postcard campaign’ to the Prime Minister’s Office starting December 15, to protest against the Centre’s delay in releasing their salaries.

According to reports, the funds have been transferred to the state exchequer and will be used to disburse the salaries of SSA teachers till December and training of elementary and secondary education teachers.

As earlier reported by EastMojo, Meghalaya Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui told that he has been pursuing the matter with the Central government for the past three months. The minister, however, hopes the funds would be released before Christmas.

Also Read: Will it be a Merry Christmas for the over 12,000 SSA teachers in Meghalaya?

The Centre had not released funds for payment of their salaries since April this year. The education minister told EastMojo that Rs 79 crore was earlier sanctioned through the chief minister’s fund to meet the exigency.