Shillong, Nov 11: Deficit teachers under the banner of Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers’ Association (KJDSTA) on Wednesday launched their indefinite strike demanding fulfilment of their various demands.
The association, meanwhile, rejected a fresh letter from the Education department’s saying “no real solution” in it.
“Last night, we got a letter from the Education Department on WhatsApp…to our utter disappointment, we found that it is actually the same letter that the Education Department had sent to us on October 8, 2026,” said Boswell Pala, president of KJDSTA during the first day of the strike at Assamese Secondary School, Shillong.
“It is not exactly the same, there is some refurbishment, some modification, given point-wise just like our ultimatum,” he said.
On Dearness Allowance, Pala said the Government was still hiding behind the same excuse of “under process.”
“In the letter of October 8, 2026, they said the DA and DA arrears would be released before the Puja holidays, and at that time it was under process,” he said.
“And now again they use the same term. The DA and DA arrears would be released, now it is under process. We would just like to ask, how long does that process take? How long does that examination of the financial implications take?” he asked.
On the Centralised Provident Fund (CPF) scheme, Pala accused the department of trying to dismantle the 2023 scheme agreed upon by both the Government and the teachers.
“The Scheme of 2023 was framed because the Government submitted in court that there had to be a scheme as per the Act of 1969,” he said.
Pala rubbished the Government’s argument that the 1969 Act does not specify how often the Board of Trustees should be reconstituted.
He said the department was also ignoring the Board’s own bylaws, which fix the tenure at three years.
Pala said the Government was now pushing a 2026 scheme that would destroy the CPF.
“We agreed to transfer our money in 2024 as per the Scheme of 2023. We were asked to transfer the money accumulated in our individual CPF accounts to the CPF account in Laitumkhrah. Now the Scheme of 2026 says we should take the money from that CPF account and put it back in our individual accounts. Is this a joke or what?” he asked.
On the Board of Trustees, Pala said the Government was projecting a favour where none existed.
“We want the Board of Trustees of the deficit teachers and employees. That particular Board of Trustees they are referring to in the letter is not our Board of Trustees,” he said.
On recruitment, Pala said the Government’s claim of smooth functioning did not match ground reality.
“We get information from many schools that they are not allowed to advertise, and they do not get approval for the names they send to the SDSEO and DSEO offices for candidates selected through proper process,” he said.
He also accused the department of pressuring School Managing Committees (SMCs) to run schools during the strike.
“I was informed that a letter has been sent to the SMCs, and in that letter there is some kind of blackmail…They are trying to turn the SMCs against us, but we trust in the goodness of the SMCs,” he said.
