Assam: Contractual teachers under SSA contradict minister’s statement
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The All Assam TET-Qualified Teachers' Association has contradicted Education Minister Ranuj Pegu's recent statement on the legal wrangling regarding the two options given for the regularization of contractual teachers' posts in the state.
Speaking to the media here today, the association's president, Trailokya Deka, said, "Ninety-eight percent of the contractual teachers under the SSA have signed the options given to them on the issue of regularization of their posts, and two percent of the teachers opted not to sign the options and moved the Gauhati High Court. This move has put a hurdle in the entire process of regularising teachers' posts."
Contracting the statement, Deka said, "The Education Minister's statement is not based on facts. We appeal to the minister to make public on what basis he has made this statement."
Deka said, "As many as 25,500 of the 35,327 contractual teachers in the primary schools in the state are working under the SSA. And around 12,000 (47 percent) of the 25,500 SSA teachers have not signed the options given to them by the government. How come the minister says that only two percent of the teachers have not signed the options? By making such false comments in public, the Education Minister wants to mislead the people of the state. These 12,000 teachers have been waiting for the verdict of the high court on their job security."
Deka further said, "Even as 18 days of the month of February have elapsed, the contractual teachers under the SSA have not yet received their salary for the month of January 2024. The teachers have been working in difficult terrain, and it becomes a problem for them if they do not get their salary on time. This is over and above other dues like time-scale even after the completion of ten-year service, etc., which the contractual teachers are deprived of. Apart from this, the SSA has not yet cleared the irregularities in our pay structure. Since the SSA, as the first party, signed an agreement with the contractual teachers ensuring their service up to 60 years of age, it augurs well for the SSA to respect the agreement and pay all dues meant for the teachers. It is unfortunate that the teachers of the state are made to stage agitations repeatedly by the government. We appeal to the government to pay the January salary of the contractual teachers under SSA immediately, besides solving all financial issues within a week."
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