Meghalaya SSA School Association Puts Onus On State Government

A Correspondent

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya SSA School Association (MSSASA) has said that it is the responsibility of the State Government to clear the liability towards payment of arrear salary of SSA teachers during for the financial year 2016-17.

The association said that the “arrear salary” could not be paid to SSA teachers even after a gap of almost four years as additional funds have not been released by the State Government to the State Education Mission Authority Meghalaya (SEMAM).

The MSSASA has therefore requested that immediate action be taken for release of additional funds for payment of arrear salary within a time bound manner – on or before October 31, 2019.

According to the association, as per an RTI reply, received from Sushil Bhushan CPIO and Under Secretary to the government of India, MHRD, DSE&L, on the agenda to clear the liability towards payment of arrear salary of lower primary and upper primary teachers working under SSA during the financial year 2016-17 of Meghalaya, the SSA was operational since 2000-2001 and now subsumed under the scheme “Samagra Shiksha” which is a Centrally sponsored scheme and is being implemented in partnership with the State Governments throughout the country.

It was also informed that since its inception, this programme was conceived as additional support to the States/UTs to achieve universal elementary education in the country and it has clearly illustrated in the Framework and Manual of SSA and “Samagra Shiksha” that the fund released by Government of India for this scheme will not substitute State funding for elementary education.

Further, as per the RTI reply, Section 7(1) of RTE Act, 2009 provides that “The Central and State Government shall have the concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of the RTE Act”.

The MSSASA informed that as per the letter received by the association from A Ch Marak, State Project Director, SEMAM, SSA, Shillong dated September 11, 2019, it is clearly mentioned that “arrear salary could not be paid to SSA teachers due to non-receipt of fund from the government.”

The State Project Director, SEMAM also stated in his letter, “The Secretary to the Government of India, MHRD in his D.O. letter No. F. 2-18/2015-EE.3 dated 13th February, 2017, informed that the State Government is to release adequate funds from its own resources including the funds devolved under 14th Finance Commission for implementation of scheme activities including “teacher’s salary”.

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