Shillong, May 4: Teachers and non-teaching staff of deficit grant-in-aid schools and colleges across Meghalaya staged a peaceful protest on Monday against the proposed Meghalaya Non-Government Schools and Colleges Employees Centralised Fund Scheme, 2026. Demonstrations were held simultaneously at educational institutions across the state.

The agitation comes shortly after Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma announced the scheme during a meeting with teachers on May 1. Protesters argued that the proposed system would deprive employees of their rightful retirement benefits.

Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association president P. Syiemlieh stated that the protest was intended to highlight the denial of legitimate entitlements to staff. Supporting this view, Association General Meghalaya College Non-Teaching Employees Secretary Ibapynhun Thabah asserted that the scheme, in its current form, was unacceptable as it would strip employees of benefits they had anticipated under the existing framework.