Shillong June 8: Teachers teaching in deficit schools and colleges in Meghalaya will get a revised salary from next month and their pay revision is with effect retrospectively from January 1, 2017.

This has been approved by the state cabinet during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma on Friday to implement the pay revision under the Fifth Meghalaya Pay Commission.

Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui told reporters that the arrears from January 2017 to June 2018 will be released in four instalments, 25 per cent each.

Te implementation of the revised pay will cost Rs 126 crore for payment of arrears to the teachers, besides an additional amount of Rs 84 crore.

The education department that spent over Rs 278 crore per annum prior to the implementation of the pay revision, will have to spend Rs 362 crore annually.

On the number of deficit schools, deficit-pattern schools, colleges as well as staff both teaching and non-teaching, Rymbui said the lower primary level has 1,911 schools and 3,852 staff, upper primary (136 schools and 877 staff), secondary (121 schools and 2,363 staff), higher secondary (17 schools and 186 staff), deficit-pattern secondary (9 schools and 102 staff) and deficit college (15 colleges and 281 staff).

Earlier, the associations of deficit school teachers have warned that they would go for agitation if the state government failed to implement the pay revision as already extended to the state government employees.