Teachers’ associations in Meghalaya on May 6 walked out of a meeting convened by the state education department, opposing the proposed Centralized Fund Scheme and accusing the government of trying to “force” registration while the matter remains pending before the High Court. The meeting, chaired by Education Commissioner and Secretary Vijay Mantri, was held to discuss the Meghalaya Non-Government Schools and Colleges Employees Centralized Fund Scheme, 2026, which seeks to streamline provident fund management for more than 30,000 non-government education employees across the state.
The proposed scheme covers deficit, ad hoc and SSA teachers, among others. Deficit teachers are employees of privately managed aided schools whose salaries are paid by the government to make up for shortfalls in institutional revenue. Representatives of the Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association and the Khasi Jaintia Deficit School Teachers’ Association attended the discussions but later staged a walkout, claiming the process lacked transparency and failed to include all affected stakeholders.
KJDSTA president Bosswell Pala said there was “no point” in continuing with the discussions under the current circumstances. He alleged that organizations such as the Garo Hills Deficit School Teachers & Employees Association and the Meghalaya College Non-Teaching Employees Association had not been invited to the meeting.