Tripura Teachers Demand 8th Pay Commission Benefits

The Tripura TET Teachers’ Welfare Association (TTTWA), representing 1.4 lakh government employees, has intensified its demand for the immediate implementation of the 8th Pay Commission’s recommendations, set to take effect for central government employees from January 2026. At a press conference on Saturday, TTTWA secretary Ajay Paul criticized successive Tripura governments for failing to fully implement the 7th Pay Commission, leaving state employees with a mere 33% Dearness Allowance (DA) compared to the 55% received by their central counterparts.

Paul highlighted historical disparities, noting that only former Chief Minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumder’s administration in 1988 fully implemented the 4th Pay Commission’s recommendations. He urged Chief Minister Manik Saha to release the pending 22% DA by October 31, 2025, to align with the 16th Finance Commission’s deadline for committed expenditure, warning that failure to do so could deepen employee deprivation.

The association also demanded the abolition of the fixed-pay policy for TET-qualified teachers, introduced in 2017, which requires five years of service before regularization—a practice Paul claimed is unique to Tripura and absent in most other states. “This policy is unfair and must be rolled back,” he asserted, calling for the Chief Minister’s intervention.

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Additionally, Paul raised concerns about the leadership vacuum in government schools, where many lack headmasters due to no appointments through the Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC) in over 13 years. He urged immediate action to fill these posts to restore administrative stability.

The TTTWA’s demands align with broader calls for “One Nation, One Pay,” raised during a January 2025 convention, inspired by the central government’s 8th Pay Commission announcement. Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, responding to queries in the Tripura Assembly on April 1, 2025, indicated that the state is actively considering adopting the 8th Pay Commission, though no final decision has been made. Social media posts on X reflected growing frustration among teachers, with users like @TripuraVoice demanding equal pay and better school governance.

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