U.P. basic education department proposes group insurance policy for teachers, staff

The primary school teacher’s association, however, is not satisfied with the insurance scheme and wants free medical care at par with government employees

The basic education department has drafted a proposal for a cashless group health insurance policy for six lakh teachers, shiksha mitras, instructors and non-teaching staff working in primary and upper primary schools operated under the basic education council.

Basic education department said the insurance scheme is voluntary and covers the whole family, including the couple, dependents and two children. Parents can also be included in the policy. (Pic for representation)

The amount of the proposed insurance premium has been fixed after negotiations with the companies and teacher’s organisations. The policy will be of ₹3 lakh, ₹5 lakh, ₹7 lakh and 10 lakh and can be chosen voluntarily. The insurance covers the whole family, including the couple, dependents, and two children. Parents can also be included in the policy.

The primary school teacher’s association, however, was not pleased with the scheme. Primary school teachers’ association president Dinesh Chandra Sharma demanded that the government provides them with a cashless facility up to ₹5 lakh, which it gives to the state government employees free of cost.

“Teachers will not buy this insurance scheme,” Sharma added.

Director general of school education Vijay Kiran Anand said that the group insurance scheme was voluntary and not mandatory for teachers. He said that no medical examination would be required to avail of the policy. The facility for getting treatment for all types of diseases will be available from day one. Anand added that comprehensive coverage was being provided in this health insurance policy, and if teachers avail of this facility, it will be of immense benefit to them.

In this proposal, maternity medical benefits will be available from day one, the maximum age of the serving employee will be 62 years, and the maximum age of the dependent parents will be 85 years. Cashless cards will be given to all insurance holders, who will be able to get treatment in any network hospital in Uttar Pradesh and India. The policy was voluntarily and will need to be renewed every year. AYUSH therapy will also be permissible under this policy. However, the teacher association rejected the idea and said the scheme was available in the open market and that the government has not provided any extra facilities.