Assam Primary Teachers Revive Agitation Over Salary Payment System, Warning of Legal Action

Guwahati: A fresh confrontation is brewing between the Assam government and a section of primary school teachers over the system being used to disburse their salaries, with the Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association (ASPTA) preparing to step up its protest.

Teachers affected by the salary mechanism will submit warning letters to education officials across the state on Wednesday, August 26. The Association has also called a state-level meeting in Guwahati on August 29 to determine its next course of action.

The latest development follows an assurance given by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu earlier this month. ASPTA had suspended an indefinite protest after a meeting with the minister on August 11, during which it was assured that the SNA-SPARSH-based salary system would be discontinued for teachers regularised through the special recruitment process.

The teachers had expected the previous salary arrangement to be restored by August 25. However, ASPTA said no corresponding changes had been made in the FIN ASSAM system, leading to renewed uncertainty over how their salaries would be processed.

The Association pointed out that the system continues to list Samagra Shiksha Assam as the Director, Dispur as the treasury and BMC as the DDO. According to the teachers, these entries indicate that their salaries could continue to be processed through a scheme-linked arrangement rather than the regular mechanism applicable to permanent employees.

ASPTA has argued that the teachers regularised under the special recruitment process should not be placed on a payment system designed for contractual staff. It said the teachers had already given up 11 years of annual increments as part of the regularisation process.

The issue first triggered strong resentment after salaries were deposited into the teachers’ accounts on August 10 despite their objections. The Association alleged that the payment process contained irregularities and that adequate information had not been provided to the affected teachers.

Complaints were subsequently submitted to education officials and police stations in different areas.

Following the August 11 discussions, the Education Minister directed officials to address the discrepancies and assured the teachers that those regularised would not be reverted to a contractual salary arrangement.

However, with the promised changes yet to appear in the financial system, ASPTA has once again raised the possibility of legal action.

The August 29 meeting is expected to bring together representatives from different subdivisions to decide whether the Association should launch a fresh phase of agitation if the government does not resolve the issue.

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