NEW DELHI – Thousands of Delhi teachers await reimbursement for e-tablets purchased after a December 2023 directive from the Directorate of Education (DoE). A Right to Information (RTI) application reveals no payments have been made to these teachers so far.
On December 7, 2023 , the DoE issued a circular. It instructed teachers under its jurisdiction to buy tablets using their own money. The circular promised reimbursement upon submission of bills.
RTI Reveals Zero Reimbursements
The RTI application, filed by PTI-Bhasha, sought details on teacher purchases, payments, and allocated funds. The reply covered approximately 9,000 teachers across nearly 300 schools in 10 zones. It confirmed that not a single teacher has received reimbursement under the 2023 directive.
The DoE did not provide information on the funds allocated for these tablet purchases. This information was withheld even after a first appeal under the RTI Act.
Long-Standing Policy, Recent Failure
The December 2023 circular referenced guidelines from 2018 . The 2018 guidelines instructed all regular and guest teachers to purchase tablets worth up to Rs 15,000 . They explicitly stated that payment would be made within 15 days of bill submission to the head of school.
An earlier e-tablet scheme launched in 2018 successfully reimbursed teachers. According to a separate RTI response, Rs 8.69 crore was allocated for the 2018 scheme. Of this, Rs 8.27 crore was spent, indicating payments were processed at that time.
New Directive, Unpaid Bills
Nearly five years later, the December 2023 circular permitted teachers who had purchased tablets more than four years prior under the 2018 guidelines to buy a new tablet, again promising reimbursement up to Rs 15,000 .
Krishna Kumar Phogat, president of the Democratic Teachers’ Forum, Delhi, stated that over 50,000 teachers purchased new tablets following the 2023 directive. None have received reimbursement to date. Phogat has raised the issue with political leaders, including former Chief Minister Atishi, current Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Education Minister Ashish Sood. He reported receiving assurances that payments would be released soon.
Two school principals, speaking anonymously from central and northwest Delhi, confirmed that teachers who purchased tablets under the 2023 instructions have not been paid.
Essential Tools for Education
Teachers use these tablets for critical educational functions. These tasks include:
- Marking student attendance online via the DoE’s app.
- Entering exam scores on the Edudel portal.
- Generating complete academic results.
- Conducting online classes.
- Submitting Mission Buniyad (now Nipun) assessment details.
- Recording scholarship information.
- Managing U-DISE (Unified District Information System for Education) registration.
- Updating APAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) IDs.
Education Director Vedita Reddy had not provided a response on this matter by the time this report was filed.