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SHILLONG, AUGUST 28: Over 3,300 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) schools in Meghalaya have given No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to be placed under the direct administrative control of the state education department, the Meghalaya SSA Schools Association (MSSASA) stated on Wednesday.
Of the number, 3,034 are community-managed and 298 are religiously or privately managed. MSSASA president Aristotle Rymbai explained that the department has received NOCs from 298 privately or religiously managed schools stating that they would be willing to have their management transferred to the government.
Rymbai also pointed out that the Association has been pushing for the launch of an appropriate pay scale for SSA teachers. “We are pleased as the commissioner and secretary showed us a presentation showing that a proposal on pay scales has been made. The proposal will be submitted to the finance department and then to the cabinet for approval after the Assembly session,” he added.
On the rationalisation of SSA and government schools, he said that the process has already been initiated, with some districts re-posting teachers from single-digit strength schools to institutions with more students. Meghalaya now has 5,131 lower primary (LP) and upper primary (UP) SSA schools, several of which may soon be taken over directly by the state education department.