SHILLONG: In a significant development for the state’s education sector, leaders of the Voice of the People Party (VPP) met with Meghalaya’s Minister of Education, Lahkmen Rymbui, to formally submit a comprehensive memorandum outlining deep concerns over what they describe as the systematic weakening of higher education.
Speaking to media personnel after the meeting, VPP Spokesperson and MLA Brightstarwell Marbaniang highlighted a range of pressing challenges, primarily focusing on the dilution of the decades-old Deficit Grant-in-Aid system.
The opposition party expressed deep apprehension over recent administrative developments that appear to undermine the very foundational framework of the state’s educational network. The VPP pointed out a stark contrast between the current Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government’s public assertions prioritizing education and the troubling ground realities. According to the party, instead of fortifying the academic institutions that have historically driven Meghalaya’s educational advancement, recent policy frameworks and administrative decisions indicate a gradual phrasing out of the Deficit Grant-in-Aid system.
The delegation stressed that this framework has historically played a vital role in expanding access to higher learning across remote areas, offering opportunities to thousands of underprivileged students who would have otherwise been completely deprived of a college education.
A major point of contention brought before the Minister involves the implementation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Scale of Pay for educators serving against government-sanctioned posts in deficit colleges.
The VPP reminded the administration that the extension of the UGC pay scale to college teachers initially began in 1975 under a visionary leadership that prioritized academic excellence. For nearly fifty years, successive governments upheld this policy without citing financial constraints or questioning the necessity of teachers’ salaries.
However, the party observed that certain highly qualified local teachers, who possess all the mandatory UGC-prescribed qualifications, are now being systematically denied the UGC scale of pay despite performing identical duties to their peers.
The VPP strongly condemned this disparity as unjustified discrimination among teachers holding similar government-sanctioned positions. Highlighting a troubling irony, the party noted that while higher education institutions were heavily staffed by non-local teachers who received full benefits in the early decades of the policy, restrictions and denials are now being introduced just as a large number of qualified indigenous and local scholars are entering the profession.
The opposition warned that this shift has created a widespread perception that current policies work against local interests, thereby discouraging deserving indigenous scholars from pursuing long-term careers in higher education.
Furthermore, the delegation drew the government’s attention to the ongoing financial hardships faced by educators due to prolonged delays in disbursing Dearness Allowance (DA). The VPP pointed out that while the Central Government has already revised the DA rate to 60 percent, eligible teachers in Meghalaya have reportedly not even received the previously revised rate of 58 percent.
The party emphasized that such administrative delays impose unnecessary financial strain and create a sense of instability within the academic community, maintaining that teachers entrusted with shaping the state’s youth deserve the timely release of all legitimate dues.
In light of these grievances, the Voice of the People Party has urged the state government to immediately protect and reinforce the Deficit Grant-in-Aid system, ensure the seamless extension of UGC scales to all eligible teachers in government-sanctioned posts, eliminate internal salary disparities, and clear all pending Dearness Allowance along with future revisions.
The VPP expressed hope that the government would accept these concerns constructively and implement swift corrective measures to safeguard the interests of both the teaching fraternity and the student community in Meghalaya.
