GUWAHATI | Teachers recruited under Assam’s Special Recruitment Drive (SRD) on Monday renewed their protest demanding restoration of the earlier salary disbursement system, with the education department saying the rollback has been delayed by technical issues.

A large number of SRD teachers from across the state gathered outside the Directorate of School Education (Elementary) office at Kahilipara, opposing the continued use of the SNA-SPARSH salary payment module.

The teachers, under the banner of the Assam State Primary Teachers’ Association (ASPTA), said the government had earlier assured them that their salaries would again be processed through the system used before the introduction of SNA-SPARSH.

Association president Ratul Chandra Goswami said the agitation was resumed after an assurance given by Education Minister Ranoj Pegu on August 11 was not implemented in September.

“On August 11, Minister Ranoj Pegu assured us that, from September, SRD teachers would receive regular salaries through the system that existed before SNA-SPARSH. That did not happen. That is why we renewed our agitation today,” Goswami said.

The association questioned the decision to place 15,029 SRD teachers under the new salary disbursement mechanism, arguing that they had already been regularised and were receiving salaries through the earlier system. Following the protest, an association delegation submitted a memorandum to Director of School Education (Elementary) Suranjana Senapati, seeking withdrawal of the SNA-SPARSH mechanism for SRD teachers.

The delegation later held discussions with Senapati and other departmental officials.

Goswami said officials assured the teachers that the earlier salary system would be restored and SNA-SPARSH discontinued for SRD teachers.

“The government’s decision to follow a new disbursement model has created several issues. We expressed our dissatisfaction and demanded the immediate suspension of salary payments through the SNA model,” he said.

The association was subsequently assured that the previous salary payment mechanism would be restored from October, Goswami said.

Department cites technical hurdles

Senapati said SRD teachers are regular teachers under the elementary education department and that the government was working to restore the earlier salary payment mechanism. “There are certain technical issues in reverting to the earlier salary disbursement system,” she said.

Senapati said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Education Minister Ranoj Pegu had discussed the matter in Delhi and that the new system would be withdrawn and the earlier mechanism restored.

“The process is underway and, technically, it will take some time to convert them back to the previous model,” she said. The department’s priority, she added, was to ensure that all teachers receive their salaries on the first day of every month.

“The demands raised are already under process,” Senapati said.

The teachers suspended their protest after submitting the memorandum and receiving the assurance from the department. However, they insisted that their October salaries be processed through the previous system.

On August 11, Pegu had said the government had decided against continuing salary payments to SRD teachers through SNA-SPARSH and would process their salaries in the same manner as those of other regular teachers.

The association later claimed that the corresponding changes had not been reflected in the FinAssam salary records and renewed its demand for restoration of the earlier payment mechanism.