Shillong, Nov 25: Teachers of deficit schools in Meghalaya have decided to meet chief minister Mukul Sangma to discuss on the pay revision issue and lauded the Meghalaya Board of School Education for taking the initiative to revise textbooks for all schools from classes-I to X in the state.
The teacher took this decision during a joint meeting of the Khasi Jaiñtia Deficit School Association and Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers and Employees Association held at Jail Road Boys’ School here where they discussed issues related to revised textbooks, service rules and state education policy, pay revision and pension for deficit school teachers.
Khasi Jaiñtia Deficit School Association president, E.D. Nongsiang told reporters that the deficit teachers welcomed the decision of the MBoSE to revise the textbooks and the meeting resolved to also have a committee that would again review the textbooks to be issued by MBoSE to ensure that relevant textbooks are used in schools.
Nongsiang said that the teachers also felt that the pattern of setting of question papers should be at par with questions set by other Central boards of education.
ON pirce of textbooks, Nongsiang said the MBoSE would be asked to ensure that the price of textbooks should be reasonable because exorbitant rate of textbooks is affecting parents especially poor families.
“Unlike in the past, now the same textbooks cannot be re-used by students. Therefoere the board should ensure that the price of textbooks to be sold in markets should be reasonable,” Nongsiang said, while threatening that the teachers’ body would raise strong objection if the price of textbooks is too high.
Nongsiang said that the meeting also discussed about the pending service rules for deficit school teachers and state education policy and the state education officers have informed a draft service rules would be given to them within December.
On pay revision, Nongsiang said, “We have decided to meet the chief minister, next month to get a clear picture on the implementation of pay revision.”
According to Nongsiang, in May this year, a proposal was submitted to the fifth Meghalaya pay commission on the need to include medical reimbursement for deficit teachers and ‘modified assured career progression scheme’.
