Shillong: The talks between Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and agitating contractual teachers held here on Thursday failed to yield any positive result.
The contractual teachers under the banner of Meghalaya Government LP Contractual Teachers’ Association (MGLPSTA) would hold a meeting now to discuss the next course of action to mount pressure on the Conrad Sangma-led government to reinstate them. The government had sacked a total of 800 contractual teachers after they failed to clear the Meghalaya Teacher Eligibility Test (MTET).
After the meeting, MGLPSTA president, Birbor Riangtem, said, “The Chief Minister made it clear to us that the government cannot accede to their demand to reinstate them. Instead, he blamed the previous government for its inaction.”
“It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the contractual teachers are also protected. The government should understand that contractual teachers too have children and they need to be fed and educated,” an upset Riangtem said.
“We have been appointed in Lower Primary and Upper Primary schools from 2010 onwards to educate children. MTET was introduced in 2010, the examination was conducted only in 2019 and by that time we were over-aged and many of us were not qualified,” he said.
The contractual teachers have launched their agitation since Monday. Initially, they staged a sit-in outside the Chief Minister’s bungalow , but later were asked to shift their protest venue to a location near the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) office.
