The State Cabinet has approved the introduction of a structured pay framework for teachers engaged on fixed pay under the Education Department, a move that will benefit about 23,000 teachers, including ad hoc and SSA teachers, who were earlier receiving grant-in-aid or were governed by varying pay structures under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) norms.
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday said the decision addresses long-standing concerns arising from disparities in pay structures and the lack of job security. He said the government had held extensive consultations with teachers and their associations over the past six months, and had indicated its intention to roll out the reform ahead of Christmas.
“In the next two months, we will work out the nitty-gritty of other important interventions that need to be taken, because this is a reform that we’re doing, and the reform will have multiple aspects,” the CM said, adding that school-level restructuring would accompany the introduction of the structured pay framework. The government will finalise the associated structural and institutional reforms within the next 60 days. The structured pay will be implemented from April 1, and is estimated to have an annual financial implication of Rs 817 crore for the state government.
