DA Hike: Great news for teachers ahead of the elections! Finally, educators and education staff in the state are set to receive a 10 percent dearness allowance (10 Percent Hike DA). The dearness allowance for teaching staff at government-run and government-aided schools in the state has been raised by 10 percent. This announcement was made by the state government just before the elections. The School Education Department has put out a notification regarding this.
Initially, the state government had planned a total of 20 percent dearness allowance, with 10 percent set for 2024 and another 10 percent for 2025. However, they didn’t specify when the dearness allowance would actually be disbursed. The School Education Department has now clarified this through their notification. Sources from the Education Department indicate that this is still awaiting approval from the Finance Department, and instructions have been given to expedite that approval.
Teachers and education workers can expect to receive the funds along with back pay starting from April 2024. There are about 40 to 45 schools in the state that qualify for the dearness allowance. These schools receive the allowance solely from the government, while the basic salaries are managed by the school management committee. The notification specifies that only those teachers included in ROPA 2009 will be eligible for this dearness allowance.
As per sources in the Education Department, the process was halted pending Finance Department approval, but the order has now been issued following that approval. According to ROPA-2009, salaried teachers and education workers will receive the allowance along with their arrears from April 2024.
With the 10 percent increase, the dearness allowance has now risen to 161 percent. However, the School Education Department has yet to implement the rate at which the dearness allowance was meant to increase.