Christmas gift for SSA teachers of Meghalaya as Centre releases funds

SHILLONG:

The Ministry of Education (ME) on Tuesday released the funds under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) for various schools in Meghalaya.

The funds granted by the ministry will cover the pending salaries of the teachers in the state due for several months now.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the @EduMinOfIndia for the release of funds which will cover the pending salaries of the teachers in our State. The Department is now working for (the) release of the same to the districts at the earliest,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma tweeted on Wednesday.

A day after the centre releases the funds, the Meghalaya government wasted no time and transferred the same to all the 11 districts on Wednesday.

The Government of Meghalaya has been pursuing the matter with the central government for some time now with a hope that the funds would be released before Christmas.

Over 12,000 teachers from various government-aided schools in Meghalaya had not received their salaries for four months since August.

Earlier, the Meghalaya SSA Schools' Association (MSSASA), an umbrella body of the SSA Schools in the state, had decided to launch a postcard campaign to get the attention of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Speaking to TNT-The Northeast Today, president of the Aristotle Rymbai MSSASA has expressed his gratitude to the chief minister, the education minister, Lahkmen Rymbui and officials of the education and finance department for their prompt action.

"We are grateful to the CM because despite being in isolation, he still reached out to the ministry to make good on his promise to clear our salaries before Christmas," Rymbai said.

(Edited by Shankar Kumar Turha)