On receipt of written assurance from the state government, the All Nagaland Hindi Teachers’ Union (ANHTU) on Friday called off its indefinite phase-III agitation, which began on March 15, against non-release of their nine months’ salary.
The state government in its written assurance agreed to pay two months’ salary by March 2017 and the remaining pending salary within April 2017 based on the release of funds by ministry of human resource development (MHRD).
In a written assurance, the state chief secretary, Pankaj Kumar, stated that if there was delay in release of funds by MHRD the state government would release pending salary from the state budget two months at time from April onwards till all the dues were cleared.
In this regard, the chief secretary appealed to the agitating Hindi teachers to call off the agitation.
Earlier, while the ANHTU representatives were having marathon meeting with chief minister, minister school education, chief secretary, finance commissioner and officials of school education department, the agitating teachers became impatient and started shouting and entered the first gate. However, the police personnel prevented them from proceeding beyond the second gate.
Later, commissioner and secretary school education, FP Solo, appeared at main gate and read out the assurance letter to the agitating Hindi teachers.
Solo informed that MHRD released only Rs. 6 crore against the requirement of Rs. 50 crore, which he said could not even meet for two months salary.
He said Hindi teachers under centrally sponsored scheme (CSS) come to the end in March 2017, but added that the state government was showing its positive approach to absorb them into state service.
Meanwhile, minister for school education, Yitachu, in a separate press statement, assured that the state government would pay the salaries of the CSS Hindi teachers from the state exchequer. Yitachu said that the even as the funds for payment of CSS Hindi teachers’ salaries has not been released by the Centre, the same would be paid from the state exchequer for two months per month starting March 2017.
He assured that the payment would continue till all their pending salaries were cleared.
The minister, however, expressed hope that MHRD would release the funds for payment of salaries to CSS Hindi teachers by next month. Yitachu said “once the fund is received the entire amount of pending salaries would be cleared, while those paid from the state exchequer would be recovered.”
Meanwhile, the minister has acknowledged the state government and finance department for understanding and releasing funds to pay to the agitating Hindi teachers.
He also expressed gratitude to the ANHTU for accepting the offer and agreeing to call off the agitation.
Leave a Reply