The Assam State Primary Teachers' Association (ASPTA) has announced an indefinite sit-in protest in Guwahati from August 12, intensifying its agitation against the state government's decision to route the salaries of regularised Special Recruitment Drive (SRD) teachers through the SNA-SPARSH module.
The announcement came after demonstrations were held across several districts, including Biswanath, Silchar and Cachar, where hundreds of teachers staged protests outside the offices of District Elementary Education Officers (DEEOs). Holding banners and placards, the protesters raised slogans against the new salary disbursement mechanism and demanded that the government withdraw the directive.
The association has objected to the proposed shift from the existing treasury-based FinAssam system to the SNA-SPARSH platform, arguing that regular government employees should not be brought under a scheme-based payment framework. According to the teachers, making the digital module mandatory for salary processing could create technical and administrative complications, potentially affecting the timely disbursement of salaries.
During the demonstrations, teachers submitted memoranda addressed to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Union Education Minister and Samagra Shiksha, Government of India, seeking intervention and urging the government to continue salary payments through the existing treasury system.
Association leaders said the issue was not merely about delayed salary payments but about the proposed change in the payment mechanism and the uncertainty it could create regarding the future service conditions of regularised SRD teachers. They alleged that repeated representations to the authorities had failed to resolve their concerns.
The protest forms part of a statewide agitation launched by the ASPTA against the government's decision to shift the salary processing of more than 15,000 regularised SRD teachers from district treasuries to the central SNA-SPARSH platform and the Dispur Treasury. The association contends that the move is inconsistent with the terms under which the teachers were regularised and may adversely affect the salary disbursement process.
In a statement, ASPTA President Nilakshi Gogoi and General Secretary Ratul Chandra Goswami said nearly 15,000 teachers had resigned from their posts under Samagra Shiksha to join the Directorate of Elementary Education (DEE) as regular teachers, despite accepting salary reductions ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 per month. They said the teachers have been receiving salaries through the existing treasury system in accordance with their appointment terms and expressed concern that shifting to the SNA-SPARSH module could alter the existing process.
Responding to the protests, Assam Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu said the concerns over the teachers' employment status were unfounded. He stated that around 15,000 contractual teachers under Samagra Shiksha had already been regularised and are permanent employees under the Directorate of Elementary Education.
Pegu clarified that the recent delay in salary disbursement was due to technical changes associated with treasury reforms and not because of any financial constraints. He assured that pending salaries would be released within two to three days and reiterated that the teachers would continue to receive all benefits available to regular state government employees.
Despite the government's assurances, the teachers' association has maintained that unless the proposed salary disbursement mechanism is withdrawn, it will proceed with the indefinite sit-in protest from August 12, signalling a further escalation of its statewide agitation.
