Delhi teachers await reimbursement for tablets bought under 2023 directive: RTI

A fresh review of Delhi’s tablet reimbursement scheme shows that teachers who bought devices under a 2023 directive are yet to receive any payment, according to information released through a Right to Information request.

The Directorate of Education had issued a circular on Dec 7, 2023, instructing all teachers under its authority to purchase tablets at their own cost and submit bills for reimbursement.

Data shared in response to the RTI, which covered nearly 300 schools across 10 zones, listed about 9,000 teachers who had purchased devices but indicated that none had been reimbursed.

The directorate also declined to provide details on the funds earmarked for the scheme, even after a first appeal.

The December 2023 circular stated that the tablet initiative was originally introduced in 2018, when guidelines required regular and guest teachers to buy devices priced at up to ₹15,000, with the amount to be refunded upon submission of original bills.

Clause five of the 2018 guidelines specified that reimbursement should be completed within 15 days of the bill being submitted to the school head.

Teachers who purchased devices when the scheme first launched in 2018 were reimbursed, a fact confirmed through an earlier RTI reply that reported an allocation of ₹8.69 crore, of which ₹8.27 crore was spent.

The 2023 circular referenced the older guidelines and extended eligibility to teachers who had bought tablets more than four years earlier, allowing them to purchase a new device worth up to ₹15,000 with the promise of reimbursement.

However, teachers who followed the 2023 instructions have not received payments.

“Over 50,000 teachers purchased new tablets following the 2023 directive, yet none have received reimbursement so far,” said Democratic Teachers' Forum president Krishna Kumar Phogat.

He said that the matter has been raised with former chief minister Atishi, current Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Education Minister Ashish Sood, and added that the government has assured that payments will be released soon.

Two principals from central and northwest Delhi, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that reimbursements remain pending.

One of them noted that tablets are used for daily attendance marking through the directorate’s mobile app, recording examination scores on the Edudel portal, and generating full results. Teachers also conduct online classes on these devices.

A teacher from East Delhi said tablets are essential for uploading Mission Buniyad, now Nipun, assessment data, maintaining scholarship records, completing U-DISE registration, and handling APAR IDs.