Delhi Government school teachers demand better security
Teachers in Delhi Government schools have come up with a list of demands including better safety measures and assurances from the government amid increasing coronavirus cases in the capital. Teachers have also requested the government to stop assigning them for relief work and allow them back into school duty. On Friday, a school principal of a government school in Kalyanpuri had died after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Delhi Government had put many government school teachers in charge of hunger relief centres and quarantine centres across Delhi during the initial lockdown. According to estimates of Delhi Government School Teachers Association (GSTA), 400 school teachers have been infected with Coronavirus so far.
The Delhi Government School Teachers Association (GSTA), in a press release, said:” After many infected teachers had died in the past four days, the death of Ompal Singh, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Kalyanpuri, has created an atmosphere of fear among teachers. Teachers are requesting the government to allow them to return to schools now that the relief services are more or less stopped.”
The teachers also said that the back-to-back duties are affecting their health which in turn makes them more vulnerable to infections.GSTA General Secretary, Ajay Veer Yadav, said that the association has requested a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Principal Secretary of Education to present their demands.
Their demands include “one crore compensation for government officials who die during COVID-19 duty”, “government jobs for one family member of the deceased, “reserving COVID-19 test for teachers on relief duty”, “treatment for infected teachers in Delhi hospitals” and “providing WHO-recommended protective equipment for teachers on relief duty”.