SHILLONG, SEP 2: Accusing the government of pushing the biggest restructuring of teaching jobs in Meghalaya’s history through a one-page forwarding letter, the Congress on Wednesday asked it to publish all related notifications and keep the new hiring model in abeyance until the legislature examines it.
MPCC secretary Manuel Badwar told reporters that letter No. EDN.9/2026/34 dated August 19 directs that every fresh vacancy in government and deficit schools from lower primary to higher secondary till 2027-28 will be filled under the Structured Pay Framework under SEMAM, the State Education Mission Authority, subject to availability of funds.
Badwar said Notification No. EDN.9/2026/31 dated August 12 and its addendum dated August 17, which form the basis of the August 19 direction, are not in the public domain and demanded their full publication along with a clear statement on whether the new posts carry government-employee status, what their retirement age, leave, transfer, seniority, promotion and disciplinary rules will be.
He argued that while no serving teacher loses pay, the State Scale cadre will be starved of new entrants and will empty itself through retirements, and with the Supreme Court making TET mandatory and fixing August 31, 2028 as the final deadline after dismissing review pleas on May 29, a large number of posts are set to fall vacant in the next two years and will all be refilled outside regular service at lower entry pay of Rs 21,000 for lower primary, Rs 24,250 for upper primary, Rs 34,250 for secondary and Rs 36,500 for higher secondary without automatic DA, against the corresponding pay matrix minima.
The Congress also demanded release of domain-wise PGI scores for 2025-26, release of the State Education Commission report headed by NEHU professor Sherwin May Sungoh that was mandated in July 2023 to recommend pay parity and which the Chief Minister had said would not gather dust, and a time-bound support plan for the over 32,000 teachers impacted by the TET order in a state where UDISE+ 2024-25 shows only 72-80% trained teachers against 91% nationally.
Badwar said the February assurance in the House that deficit schools would continue under State Scale has been reversed in August without informing the House, while the government highlights the jump in SSLC pass percentage from 55.8% in 2024 to 87.1% in 2025 even as the state remains at the bottom in learning outcomes and teacher education.
“If it does not withdraw the letter, publish the notifications and bring the matter before the House, we will raise it in the Assembly, with teachers associations and in every constituency,” he said.
By Our Reporter
