SHILLONG, APR 1: The Meghalaya Cabinet has approved a long-pending provident fund (PF) scheme for employees of non-government schools and colleges receiving deficit grants from the state.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma announced the decision after chairing the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“(We have approved the) implementation of the Meghalaya Non-Government Schools and College Employees Centralized Provident Funds Scheme 2026,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of the move, Sangma noted that while contributions from employees had been deducted under an existing Act, there was no proper mechanism in place to ensure disbursal of these funds upon retirement.
“As you are aware, a large number of employees of non-government schools and colleges have been contributing based on the relevant Act. However, the government did not have a proper scheme to implement this contribution. Today, we have finalised that scheme, and the Cabinet has approved it. Once implemented, employees will receive the benefits of the provident fund,” he stated.
The scheme primarily covers “deficit” employees—staff of private institutions that receive government support through deficit grants. These include prominent institutions such as St. Anthony’s College, St. Edmund’s College, and Shillong College, among others.
Sangma explained that although contributions were being made under a framework inherited from Assam and later adopted by Meghalaya, no structured system existed to return these funds to employees after retirement.
“The government at that point in time did not come up with a scheme on how this contribution would be given to employees when they retire. So today, we approved a system outlining how it will be distributed. This was pending for a very long time,” he added.
On the financial implications, the Chief Minister clarified that the scheme would not impose an additional burden on the state exchequer.
“No, the contributions have already been made. It is now a question of creating a structure for distributing them,” he said.
The newly approved scheme is expected to bring long-awaited financial security to thousands of educators across Meghalaya by formalising the disbursal of their accumulated provident fund savings.
