Health Insurance, Life Insurance Cover and Group Housing for Country’s 60 Lakh School Teachers

The Government is mooting a Health Insurance cover and a group housing cover for the 60 lakh school teachers in the country. The Government is also proposing a group housing scheme for the teachers of the country. This was stated by Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal while chairing the 28th Meeting of the National Foundation for Teachers Welfare, here today. While the two insurance schemes will require financial contribution by the centre, the states and the teachers, the group housing scheme will be administered at the central level but will not require financial contribution from the centre or the State Governments.

The Health and Life Insurance Schemes are proposed to cost premium wise, far less for teachers as compared to individual schemes or even schemes run at the state level, due to the huge scope of the scheme, thus the economics of scale driving individual premiums down. The life insurance cover would guarantee a minimum of about Rs.5 lakh on retirement and Rs.2 lakh on death during service.

The health cover, limited to hospitalization of the teacher, spouse, two children and parents, is being worked on two options, either on a maximum cover of Rs. 1.25 lakh, which would mean lesser premium and another option of cover of Rs. 3 lakh, which would mean a higher premium. The group housing scheme is being envisaged to be centrally administered through a portal, with construction to be done by NBCC, land to be bought at institutional rates and group housing societies to be formed by teachers. Thus, while there will be no cost to the Government, the teachers will be able to get quality housing at lesser rates without much struggle or fear of being cheated.

Shri Sibal underlined that this proposal is being formulated to show that the country looks after, cares for and respects its teachers, and that he was putting it on the table for in principal approval of the State Education Ministers, as a majority of the teachers are state government employees. He clarified that he too was yet to seek the approval of the Finance Ministry. The State Education Ministers also welcomed the proposal and the immense benefit that will accrue to teachers, but said that they would be able to communicate formal approval after discussing this with their Finance Ministers

Shri Sibal expressing dismay that the meeting of this foundation was being held after many years, asked the State Education Ministers to allow the ministry to consider bringing in one teacher from every state as representative of that state in the foundation. He said that this would give the foundation the required energy as the teachers would ensure that their own body becomes more vibrant.