Teachers hail CM KCR for financial aid and 25 kg rice
Hyderabad: On April 8, the Telangana government announced financial aid of Rs 2,000 and 25 kg rice to teachers and other staff working in private educational institutions every month till the institutions reopen. In about 10 days, the bank accounts of 1.45 lakh teachers and other staff were credited with the amount and rice is being supplied through ration shops.
For the implementation of the scheme, the education department released Rs 32 crore towards providing financial assistance to the beneficiaries and the Civil Supplies Corporation was directed to supply about 3,625 tonnes of fine variety rice without compromising on the quality.
Thanking the State government for its timely response, Lalitha, a private school teacher said, “With the closure of educational institutions due to Covid-19 pandemic, teachers and non-teaching staff of many private schools are surviving with hardly enough money to live on. Most have not been paid their full salaries for almost a year now. This initiative of the State government will benefit many.”
The teachers of the medium and small budget schools are the worst-affected. Some schools have even laid off a majority of their employees despite the government’s directions, eventually forcing teachers to become daily wage labourers, agricultural labourers and salespersons for the sustenance of their families.
The decision taken by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is a rare gesture of a State government, the teachers said.
“Thanks to the government for helping out private teachers. Many belonging to the middle and lower-middle-class have been in a very bad condition financially over the last one year. Even buying groceries has become hard for many of us and this initiative will aid them to an extent,” said Anuradha, another private teacher.
Malliah, a non-teaching staff member at a private school, has not been paid for the last seven months. He was unable to even feed his family. “The financial aid and especially 25 kg rice will help fill our stomachs,” he says.
Raghavendra Rao, another non-teaching staff member, says, “It is a great initiative by our government as many private teachers and staff members are working without or half salaries amid the pandemic. I thank the government for bringing our issue to the fore and coming to our rescue.”
From left, Raghavendra Rao, Lalitha and Anuradha
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