Staff reporter
Guwahati: The Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association (ASPTA) welcomed the state cabinet decision of reducing the waiting period of annual salary increment for those teachers appointed through the Special Recruitment Drive (SRD).
Meanwhile on Sunday the state cabinet has approved the 1st Annual Incremental benefit to the newly appointed teachers in LP, UP and Secondary Schools under Special Recruitment Drive, to be paid in July, 2025 and over 26,000 teachers will benefited from this Annual increment. ASPTA general secretary Ratul Chandra Goswami said, “We have been consistently raising this issue with the government, demanding that the increment period be shortened for SRD-recruited teachers.”
He further said, “As per the previous directive issued by the Education Department on September 2, newly appointed SRD teachers were eligible for an annual increment only after completing one full year of service. Despite accepting a substantial cut in their salaries compared to regular appointments, these teachers had agreed to the terms in hopes of job regularization and future security.”
“Typically, annual increments for teachers and government employees are processed every year in July. However, due to a mere delay of two months in the appointment process, these SRD-recruited teachers stood to lose their first increment, having to wait as long as 22 months. This would have resulted in a significant financial setback,” he further said.
He further said that to address this concern, on September 10, 2024, they have written a letter to the Education Minister highlighting the issue. With no substantial action taken, the association escalated the matter and submitted a memorandum directly to the Chief Minister during a meeting held at the CMO on June 1, 2025.
“Reacting promptly, the Chief Minister extended support to the association’s concerns and directed a resolution of the issue. Acting on this, the Cabinet has now officially approved the reduction in the waiting period for annual increments for SRD teachers,” he said.
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