From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, Oct 11: In Meghalaya, some teachers—including those in the agitating deficit category—draw monthly salaries approaching Rs 2 lakh, while equally qualified colleagues receive as little as Rs 10,000, against an average pay of less than Rs 1 lakh.
The disparity has created deep imbalance and resentment within the teaching community of a state that was once regarded as the education hub of the region but now ranks low on performance indices.
Official sources confirm that the state has the highest teacher-student ratio in the region yet continues to record high dropout rates, low enrolment and poor pass percentages.
Of the 39,951 schools, deficit teachers (SSA, ad hoc and others) form the vast majority at 24,600, while about 15,000 belong to government and private institutions.
The Education Department spends Rs 2,165 crore on salaries, of which Rs 817 crore goes to deficit teachers alone.
An analysis of the top ten deficit private-school teachers shows monthly salaries ranging up to Rs 1.73 lakh, or more than Rs 20 lakh annually at the highest end.
Some of these high-paid teachers are related to serving or retired senior bureaucrats and influential politicians.
The Chief Minister, who is the head of the government, and the Chief Secretary, who is the head of administration, draw salaries lower than what several deficit teachers receive.
Under the legacy deficit grant-in-aid system, salaries for teachers in private institutions are sanctioned directly by the government, limiting the ability of School Management Committees to enforce accountability.
Officials acknowledge concerns over absenteeism and the use of proxy teachers, with some high-paid deficit teachers reportedly remaining absent while paying a few thousand rupees to untrained youths to stand in for them.
Teachers represented by various associations are on the verge of statewide protests demanding release of revised dearness allowance dues, arrears and other benefits.
The government has appealed to them not to resort to mass strikes in the interest of students, given the approaching examinations.
Meghalaya has 27 teachers’ associations; only a few in the poll-bound Khasi-Jaintia Hills have so far threatened agitation.
The combination of extreme pay disparity, accountability gaps and impending protests has turned the teachers’ issue into a significant source of political pressure for the state government.