ITANAGAR : The Arunachal Pradesh unit of the Congress on Saturday urged the state government to address the grievances of teacher educators and staffers of SCERT and district institutes of education and training (DIETs), warning that continued delays in salary payments have pushed employees to the brink of an indefinite strike.
In a statement, Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bosiram Siram expressed concern over the ongoing agitation by the Arunachal Pradesh Teacher Educators’ Association (APTEA), which has been demanding a permanent solution to the recurring delay in salary disbursement among teaching and non-teaching staff of SCERT and 11 DIETs across the state.
The association has been pressing for a resolution through a series of protests. It first observed a day-long pen-down strike on May 29, followed by a two-day strike on June 4 and 5.
Claiming that repeated representations to the authorities have failed to yield any concrete assurance, APTEA has announced an indefinite pen-down strike from June 15 under the banner of ‘no pay, no work’ if its demands remain unresolved.
Pointing out that the salary issue has persisted for several years, with employees allegedly facing irregular and delayed payments since 2019, the party said the prolonged delays have caused severe financial hardship, affecting employees’ ability to meet household expenses, repay loans and support their children’s education.
Siram said the association’s primary demand is for salaries of DIET employees to be paid directly from the state exchequer.
APTEA has argued that dependence on funding mechanisms linked to centrally sponsored schemes often leads to delays and uncertainty in salary disbursement.
The Congress leader said the issue goes beyond employee welfare and has implications for the state’s education system, as teacher educators play a crucial role in training future teachers and strengthening educational institutions.
“It is unfortunate that educators entrusted with shaping the future of our education system have been compelled to resort to agitation for redressal of their legitimate concerns,” Siram said.
He added that delayed salary payments not only affect the livelihood of employees and their families but can also undermine the functioning of teacher-training institutions and impact the quality of education.
The APCC urged the government to immediately engage with the agitating association and resolve the issue through dialogue.
It also called for better coordination among the education and finance departments and other authorities concerned to ensure timely salary disbursement and prevent such situations from recurring.
“Education is the foundation of progress, and the concerns of those who serve the education sector must never be ignored,” Siram said, reiterating the party’s support for a fair, humane and time-bound resolution of the issue. (Source: PTI)
