The varied interpretation of guidelines for granting Special Casual Leave (SCL) for teachers affected by COVID-19 is causing agony among the teachers affected by the pandemic.
A teacher of a Zilla Parishad High School in the district tested positive for COVID-19 towards the end of the recent Pongal holidays. Her fever had subsided after a few days but she had other symptoms like cold and body aches, which persisted for about 10 days.
She had planned to rejoin duty towards the end of the month as she thought she was perfectly alright as all symptoms of the disease had disappeared. However, not willing to take a chance, she underwent a COVID-19 test, and to her surprise the report confirmed her as COVID-19 positive again.
She continued to remain in home isolation for some more days and reported for duty early in this month. The headmaster insisted on production of a COVID negative report and told her that she cannot claim Special Casual Leave (SCL) and the entire period would be treated as general leave.
This is not an isolated case as there are some other teachers, who had faced a similar situation.
The headmistress of another government school in the city says that she is not insisting on production of COVID-19 negative report. The SCL can be availed from the day one tests positive. “The number of SCL, which was 14 days during the first two waves, has been reduced to 7 as patients contracting Omicron, which is the predominant variant, were getting cured in three to four days,” she says.
“If a teachers attends to her duties at the school for at least one day just before the commencement of holidays, he/she can avail of SCL. If she fails to attend on the day prior to the commencement of holidays and fails to turn up at the time of reopening, the entire period, including the holidays, will be considered as leave,” says the headmaster of a GVMC High School.
COVID negative certificate
“The G.O. says that the SCL can be availed only when other accumulated leaves are exhausted. When the teacher falls ill in the midst of holidays, the remaining holidays will be treated as leave from the date on which he/she tests positive. The G.O., however, does not talk on of production of COVID negative certificate for rejoining duty,” says Koppala Bhanu Murthy, State president of AP Teachers Federation (APTF).
“When the leave extended for more than 10 days, it would be taken from the general leave and the teacher will not be eligible for SCL,” said an official of the Education Department, who did not want to be quoted. On the ambiguity on production of ‘negative certificate’, he admitted that the G.O. is silent on it.
