Delhi government school principal succumbs to COVID-19

Two days after a 50-year-old English teacher of Kalyanpuri Government School in Delhi died of COVID-19, the principal of the same school succumbed to the infection on Wednesday.

New Delhi:A government school principal Ompal Singh on Wednesday succumbed to COVID-19, making it the second casualty to the virus in a Delhi government school near Kalayanpuri within a week.

Earlier, a 50-year-old English teacher of the same government school died of coronavirus.

Holding government accountable for the death of teachers in the national capital, the Government School Teacher Association (GSTA) said that teachers are being deployed on duty without any safety or training due to which they are losing their lives.

In Delhi, thousands of teachers are currently working in the duty of coronavirus prevention. Many of them are tasked with distributing ration, while many are also staffed in shelter homes, health and isolation centres.

Ajayveer Yadav, the general secretary of GSTA said that nobody is not paying heed to the safety of teachers and this shows the irresponsible behaviour of the government towards them.

"The duty of the teachers should be administered in such a way that the risk of the infection is minimised and all types of PPE kits, masks and other means should be available for their protection," Yadav demanded.

Teachers are the unsung heroes in the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, adding that they are brushing aside the threat of contracting virus and rendering services along with scores of doctors, nurses, police personnel and sanitary staff.

Yadav has written to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Education Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the worrisome state of the teachers, as many have tested positive for COVID-19 and many have succumbed to the infection in the national capital.

He sought time from the ministers as well the governor to discuss the matter and find a solution to the problem.