Shillong: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) is picking a fight with the state government over teacher pay. Party officials claim the administration is quietly killing off University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales for staff in deficit colleges. This system has been the standard since 1975.
VPP MLA Brightstarwell Marbaniang met with Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Friday to demand action. The party wants UGC benefits extended to all people’s and government colleges. They also want the state to pay out all overdue dearness allowance funds immediately.
Marbaniang warned that diluting these pay structures will ruin higher education quality. The party also flagged a growing staffing crisis. Dozens of sanctioned teaching posts remain empty across the state because the government stopped hiring two to three years ago.
“The government is sitting on this, and we fear it will affect the students and quality of education,” Marbaniang said. The VPP expects the state to stop the pay cuts and fill every vacant position before the situation worsens.
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