More than 300 teaching, non-teaching staff in centrally-run schools died due to COVID-19, gov't tells Rajya Sabha

A total of 327 teaching and non-teaching staff of Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and the Central Board of Secondary Education died by COVID-19, Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar told the Rajya Sabha on December 22. However, he was quick to add that none of them died on COVID-19 duty.

"As per available data 327 teaching/non-teaching staff of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Central Board of Secondary Education expired due to COVID-19. None of these teachers died during COVID duty," the Minister said.

Sarkar further said that education is a subject in the concurrent list of the Constitution. He said, "Schools, other than those owned and funded by the Central government, are under the jurisdiction of the state governments."

Earlier this year, nearly 40,000 teachers of the KVS were taking online classes from school premises, The Telegraph reported. The teachers are also given admission duty and other official responsibilities. It was only after the second wave of COVID in April that they were allowed work-from-home.

The daily reported that the situation was far worse in Navodaya Vidyalayas, which are residential schools, where teachers were asked to reside within campus even as summer vacations had begun in April.