NE states demand continuation of SSA salaries from Centre

Gangtok, May 30 (UNI) The eight North Eastern states today demanded that the Centre continue to pay salaries under the Operation Blackboard scheme during the Eleventh Plan period from the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) fund.

The Union Ministry of Human Resources had indicated that this would be done away in the eleventh plan period.

This was stated to the media after a conference of education Ministers of North Eastern states here at Chintan Bhavan, Gangtok today.

Dr R Lalthiangliana, the education minister of Mizoram and also the chairman of NE education minister's conference, said they have collectively demanded that civil works for reconstruction of dilapidated school buildings and reconstruction of unsafe school buildings also be allowed to be taken up in the North eastern states on a 65:35 (Centre-state) ratio of the funding pattern.

Several other resolutions were also adopted during the meet.

The chairman revealed that the 90:10 Centre-state funding pattern would continue for the North Eastern states while the ratio would be equal at 50:50 for all the other states in the country.

The ministers have also demanded that the funding pattern for the SUCCESS, the new scheme announced by the government of India for the universalisation of secondary education, be kept on the lines of the SSA at 90:10 centre state ratio.

Sikkim was represented by HRD minister G M Gurung. Also present were education minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Tatar Kipa and minister of Nagaland, N Konyak.

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