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The National
Foundation for Teachers’ Welfare was set up in 1962 under the Charitable
Endowments Act, 1890. The management and administration of the Foundation is
directed by a general committee under the Chairmanship of the Union
Education Minister.
Functions
The main objective
of the Foundation is to provide relief to teachers (and their dependents)
who may be in indigent circumstances. The Foundation celebrates September 5
each year as Teachers’ Day to mark the birthday of Dr S Radhakrishnan,
former President, noted educationist and philosopher.
A Voluntary campaign for the collection of funds for the welfare of
teachers is also carried out on this day. In addition, the Foundation
annually selects three teachers for the Prof. D C Sharma Memorial Award,
first instituted in 1970 in memory of the eminent educationist and former
member of the general committee of the Foundation.
Since 1990, the award carries a cash value of Rs. 2500.
Membership
All States and
Union Territories (except Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim) are members of the
Foundation. Due to the large
number of teachers serving in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), the KVS
has also been included as a member. At
the State, Union Territory and KVS level, working committees have been set
up for the operation of the Foundation.
The Education Minister and the Lt Governors are the Chairmen of the
Foundation for their respective States and UTs.
For the KVS the Commissioner (ex-officio) is the chairman.
Funds
Funds are made up
of a grant from the Government of India, and contributions from members
(states, UTs, KVS). When the Foundation was first set up in 1962, the
Central Government made an initial contribution of Rs 1,00,000 to the corpus
fund. To this was added an
annual contribution of Rs 25,000 required to be paid by each member to the
corpus of the Foundation. From
1988-89 the annual contribution is based on the teacher population of the
State/UT/KVS. A contribution of
Rs.25,000 is payable by States/UTs whose teacher population exceeds 10,000,
and Rs.5,000 by those whose population is less than 10,000. In addition, the
States/UTs/KVS are required to transfer 10% of collections made during the
year to the corpus of the Foundation.
The remaining 90% is required to be retained by the members for
utilisation as financial assistance under the various Schemes which they may
be implementing for the benefit of teachers and their dependents.
All members State/UTs are required to get their accounts audited
annually by a Chartered Accountant.
Schemes
At the outset it
was decided by the general committee of the Foundation that an adequate
corpus of funds should first be built up.
The interest derived from it could then be used to finance the
various welfare schemes so that activities of the NFTW could be sustained
over a period of time. A sizeable corpus of Rs.18.86 crores has been built up over
the years (March 31, 1991). A
sub-committee was constituted by the General Committee to make
recommendations for utilisation of the funds of the corpus money of the
Foundation for the benefit of teachers and their dependents.
The sub-committee recommended the introduction of the following
schemes on an experimental basis:
 Grant
of financial assistance for construction of Shikshak Sadans.
Paid
holiday to eminent teachers who have rendered meritorious service.
Support
for professional education of children of school teachers.
Gratuitous
relief to teachers in cases of serious accidents.
Subsidy
for academic activity of teachers.
In addition, during
the 40th Anniversary of Independence and the Nehru Centenary
Year, financial assistance was provided to groups of teachers undertaking
tours to places of historical interest.
Financial
Assistance for Construction of Shikshak Sadan
Proposals are
considered from States/UTs for grant of financial assistance for
construction of 10/20 room Shikshak Sadans in places of historical, cultural
and tourist importance. The
minimum rent chargeable from the teachers at these Shikshak Sadans is Rs.5
and the maximum Rs.10 per day. The
objective of the scheme is to enable the teachers from different parts of
the country to visit these places at nominal cost, and spend their leisure
in a meaningful manner while simultaneously promoting national integration.
Proposals should contain the following:
Plan with Detailed
Estimates
Undertaking from
the concerned State Working Committee that the facility of the Shikshak
Sadan will be made available to teachers from other State/UTs/KVS, and that
the rent chargeable from them will not exceed Rs.10 per day. The location of Shikshak Sadan should preferably be within
the campus of a school, to be identified by the State Govt/UT, so that land
is available free of cost. The grant for
Shikshak Sadan is released in two installments.
In cases where the proposals are for single storey buildings, the
first installment of 50% is released after tenders are finalised, and the
second installment of 50% is released when the construction has reached the
roof level. In respect of
double storied buildings, the first installment of 60% is released after
tenders are finalised, and the remaining 40% is released when the first
floor is completed.
Paid Holiday to
Eminent Teachers who have Rendered Meritorious Service
For
the purpose of this scheme, teachers who have been
honoured with National or State
awards, or the Prof. D C Sharma Aware are considered to belong to the
category of eminent teachers. Financial
assistance is granted to the teacher and spouse to visit any place in India
for a maximum of 14 days once in five years.
The teacher/spouse may visit a number of places but financial
assistance will be restricted to direct II class rail fare (by the shortest
route, from headquarters to the farthest place identified by the teacher),
and includes reservation and sleeper charges for the couple and a Daily
Allowance of Rs.100 per day for the teacher. Proposals from State/UT should
contain the following:
- Photocopy of
certificate of National,
State or Prof. D C Sharma Memorial Award granted to the teacher.
- Whether the
spouse is accompanying the teacher.
- Farthest place
proposed to be visited.
- Dates of visit
(commencement of journey and return to headquarters)
- Actual fare
payable (to and fro)
On return from the
visit, the teacher has to submit a tour report, as well as proof of having
visited the place identified by him/her.
The particulars of journey are to be submitted in a T.A. bill form.
The tour report and the T.A. bill are required to be countersigned by the
Secretary-Treasurer of the State/UT before they are submitted to the
Foundation for reimbursement.
Support for
Professional Education of Children of School Teachers
- Under this
scheme, financial assistance is granted to children of school teachers
pursuing professional courses. For
this purpose, the following courses have been identified as professional
courses:
- Engineering
degree course of 4 years duration (8 semesters) in the disciplines of
Civil, Mechanical, Electrical.
- Courses in
electronics and telecommunications, computer science, automobile and
chemical engineering. Architecture, textiles, mining, rubber technology,
printing, chemical technology, metallurgical engineering, naval
architecture, petroleum engineering, instrumentation and control and
aeronautical engineering are also considered professional courses.
- Diploma courses
of not less than 3 years duration in the disciplines mentioned above.
- Medical courses
in Allopathy and Ayurvedic forms of medicines.
Veterinary science is also considered a professional course.
- Diploma course
of not less than 2 years duration in B.Pharma.
- Management
courses with duration of not less than 2 years after degree courses.
In order to claim
financial assistance, the
teacher has to submit original cash receipts, along with a certificate from
the college mentioning that the ward of the teacher is a bonafide student of
the college. While scrutinising
the applications, the State Working committee has to take into consideration
the actual fee paid towards tuition, library and laboratory and make
suitable recommendations. No
assistance is granted to students who have failed or are already recipients
of scholarship etc. Financial
assistance is granted based on the actual fee paid on tuition, library, and
laboratory, subject to a maximum of Rs 2,000 per annum.
Medical
Reimbursement to Teachers Suffering from Serious Ailments
This scheme is
applicable to both teachers and their dependents. Under this scheme, financial assistance is granted to
teachers and their dependents who are suffering from serious ailments like
cancer, heart disease or kidney failure.
In order to claim financial assistance under this scheme, the
teacher/dependent should have obtained treatment in a hospital.
No financial assistance is granted for treatment obtained from
private doctors/clinics etc. Before
making recommendations, the State Working Committee is required to take into
account the actual payments made to the hospital (or towards cost of
medicines), on the basis of cash receipts submitted by the applicant. The quantum of financial assistance is decided on the basis
of actual payments made by the teachers to the hospital (or towards
medicines purchased), subject to a maximum of Rs.10,000 in cases where
medical reimbursement facilities are not available in schools, Rs.5,000
where medical reimbursement facilities are available.
Gratuitous
Relief in Cases of Serious Accidents
This scheme is
meant for teachers only. Under
this scheme, gratuitous payment is made to a teacher who is suffering from a
serious injury following an accident. An
injury which involves a permanent disability (i.e. loss of limb, hand,
eyesight or hearing) alone is considered a serious injury for purposes of
this scheme. The financial
assistance is based on proof of hospitalisation and submission of a
certificate from the hospital of permanent disability. No financial
assistance is granted for treatment of fractures etc., and for treatment
obtained from private doctors/clinics.
Under this scheme, the maximum financial assistance that can be
granted is Rs.5,000 in each case.
Subsidy to
Teachers for Academic Activity
Under this scheme,
proposals forwarded by States/UTs for granting financial assistance to a
teacher (or group of teachers) for publication, or for the development of
reading material of relevance to teachers and students are considered.
In case the proposal is for publishing a book, the teacher has to
submit a print order indicating cost of printing, number of copies proposed
to be printed, name and address of publisher, and also indicate whether the
book would be priced or is meant for free distribution.
The teacher is required to submit to the Foundation a complimentary
copy of the publication along with a bill from the printer.
The quantum of financial assistance is based on the actual printing
cost, subject to a maximum of Rs.25,000.
No assistance is granted
for printing text books, guides etc.
General
These welfare
schemes have been under implementation since 1988-89. For claiming financial assistance under the schemes outlined
earlier, the teachers are required to submit applications through their
respective Director of Public Instruction/Director of Education who is
Secretary/Treasurer of the State Working Committee. After detailed scrutiny of applications at the State level,
the applications along with recommendations are sent to the Foundation.
Applications sent directly are not entertained.
Detailed guidelines for scrutiny of applications under the various
schemes have been devised and these have been circulated to all the State
Working Committees. Assistance
is granted only to teachers from those States/UTs which have updated their
annual contribution to the Foundation.
Prof. D.C.Sharma
Memorial Award
Each year, the
Foundation selects three teachers for the Prof. D.C. Sharma Memorial Award.
Teachers who have rendered distinguished service of not less than
30 years (as on 31 May
of each year) are considered for this award.
Each State Working Committee is required to recommend two names of
teachers who are most suitable for this award. The award carries a cash
prize of Rs.2,500 and a certificate.
For
further details please write to:
Assistant
Secretary,
National Foundation for Teachers' Welfare,
Room No. 402, C-Wing
Department of Secondary and Higher Education,
Shastri Bhawan
New delhi-110001
Tel:
91-11-3388103
Fax: 91-11-3391355
E-mail: nftw.edu@sb.nic.in
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