Cash and rice for teachers: KCR

Hyderabad: Teachers and staff working in all private educational institutions in the State will be given Rs 2,000 in cash and 25-kg rice every month till the crisis gets over to mitigate their problems arising from the loss of jobs and stopping of payment of salaries due to closure of schools for the last one year. Making an announcement on the scheme which will be implemented from this month, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday said that this would be applicable for 1.45 lakh teaching and non-teaching staff. It may be recalled that teachers and non-teaching staff were the worst hit among others by the corona lockdown since May last year as managements had stopped paying salaries since lockdown was imposed. The chief minister instructed all the District Collectors to make arrangements to receive applications and bank details from the private teachers and other staff immediately. Finance Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao has been asked to prepare modalities for the relief programme in consultation with the Education department.

Education Minister P Sabitha Reddy, Civil Supplies Minister G Kamalakar and Special Advisor Rajiv Sharma will hold a video conference with the Collectors on Friday to discuss the modalities to implement the programme.

Officials said that the government would have to spend nearly Rs 100 crore for this special assistance programme.