The Delhi Government School Teachers’ Association has urged education minister Ashish Sood to release long-pending tablet reimbursement dues, citing the financial burden.
“GSTA also wishes to highlight the long-pending issue of tablet reimbursement. Pursuant to the directions of the previous government, teachers purchased tablets from their personal savings for official educational purposes. However, reimbursement of these expenses remains pending to date, causing an unnecessary financial burden on teachers,” the letter stated. Queries sent by HT to the director of the Directorate of Education (DoE) and the education minister didn’t elicit a response.
Several government school teachers told HT that their tablet reimbursement dues have been pending since 2023, despite repeated raises of the issue at both the school and department levels. “Thousands of us purchased tablets in 2023 as routine schoolwork, including student attendance and recording examination marks, was increasingly being digitised. We were told that a maximum of ₹ 15,000 would be reimbursed, but most of us have yet to receive any payment,” said a teacher who has been teaching at a West Delhi school for over three decades, requesting anonymity.
Another teacher from South Delhi said the order had made purchasing tablets mandatory and warned of action against teachers who failed to comply. “We purchased the tablets with our own money because the order stated that the reimbursement would be provided within a few months,” said a 35-year-old guest teacher.
