Shillong, Sept 22: The Federation of All School Teachers of Meghalaya (FASTOM) on Monday held a peace rally from Malki Ground, where the procession moved through the city before concluding back at the same venue. The rally was followed by an indefinite sit-in demonstration.
According to FASTOM, roughly 2,000 teachers from across the state, including participants from the Garo Hills joined the agitation in solidarity with the federation’s demands.
Speaking to the media, the Vice President of FASTOM recalled that since its inception in 2019, the federation has consistently demanded that the government upgrade all ad-hoc teachers to deficit category teachers.
He stressed that the salaries currently received by teachers are far too low to meet the rising costs of living in today’s economy. “The work that we put in is not at all equivalent to the amount of money we receive,” he said.
When asked about their next course of action if the government fails to respond, the Vice President made it clear that the sit-in would continue indefinitely—“even if it takes days or weeks”—until the government addresses their long-standing demands.