Aizawl: The Education Minister of Mizoram Lalchhandama Ralte has stated that the pending salaries of Samagra Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers of the state will be paid by the government before Christmas. After the Reserve Bank of India deposited the total amount in the account of Mizoram, the 4000 teachers under SSA can be prepared to receive their outstanding payments from August to December, said the Education Minister.
"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deposited the amount into Mizoram's account. All the employees – from primary to high school level under SSA will be paid their due salaries for the months from August to December. They will get their salaries before Christmas," said the Minister on the matter.
The announcement of the Education ministry came after the opposition party Congress criticised the state government for not being able to pay the salaries of these 4000 teachers. The opposition had even demanded the government for complete salary payments before Christmas on behalf of the teachers and slammed the ministers for allegedly letting the government employees face hardships. "Many of these employees are posted in rural areas. They are facing an acute financial crisis and running into debts," Congress spokesperson Lallianchhunga had said earlier in a conference. Stating that some of these employees have not even been able to withdraw their GPF amounts, the opposition party sought to resolve the issue by meeting the Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Higher and Technical Education Minister Dr R Lalthangliana. However, as the Congress spokesperson informed earlier, they could not succeed.
In response to these criticisms, the Zoramthanga-led MNF government said that they have been repeatedly trying to pursue the Central government for assistance on the matter. However, finally on December 18, the central government released the sanction for the salary payment of these 4000 SSA teachers in Mizoram.