ITANAGAR, Jul 12: The Arunachal Pradesh Teacher Educators' Association (APTEA) has temporarily suspended its indefinite pen-down protest following a written assurance from the State Government on the timely release of salaries for employees of the 11 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).
The protest, which began on July 9, was suspended with immediate effect after the Commissioner (Education), Amjad Tak, assured the association that the government would ensure monthly salary disbursement to DIET employees in line with other regular State Government employees. The government also stated that it would explore bringing DIET salary payments under the State Exchequer from the next financial year, subject to concurrence from the Finance and Planning & Investment Departments.
In a letter addressed to the APTEA president, the Commissioner (Education) appealed to the association to call off the agitation in the larger interest of students and other stakeholders, while appreciating the association's constructive dialogue and patience.
Responding to the assurance, APTEA president Tayon Dai said the association accepted the government's written commitment in good faith despite expressing concern that the assurance came only after a prolonged struggle and while the salary for June 2026 remained unpaid.
The association clarified that suspension of the protest should not be treated as a settlement of the issue, reiterating that its primary demand remains the regular and timely release of salaries at par with other State Government employees and disbursement through the State Exchequer from the next financial year.
APTEA also requested the Commissioner (Education) to direct the concerned branch officials to keep the association informed about the progress of the proposal whenever its members seek updates.
The association said it would closely monitor the implementation of the government's assurance and warned that it would resume the indefinite pen-down strike and other democratic forms of agitation without further notice if the assurance was not implemented or if salary disbursement continued to face delays or irregularities.