Odisha’s School and Mass Education Minister, Nityananda Gond, on Wednesday, announced that the state government has ramped up efforts to tackle school dropout rates, successfully bringing over 60,000 students back to the classroom through specialised interventions and community engagement.
Gond explained that the administration has launched a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring quality education for every child and significantly reducing dropout rates.
“One of the key initiatives is the ‘Aaso School Jiba’ campaign, under which teachers conducted a door-to-door survey across Odisha to identify children who had dropped out of school,” he highlighted.
According to the survey findings, a total of 1,83,216 dropout students were identified across Odisha. Through persistent communication with families and parent counselling, the minister stated that 60,863 of these students have already been re-enrolled and provided with the essential resources and support needed to continue their studies.
“The survey also revealed that a significant proportion of dropout students belong to Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities. To address this challenge, the state government is implementing the Madho Singh Hath Kharch Scheme, which provides financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to ST students enrolling in Class IX, aimed at encouraging them to continue their education,” Minister Gond said.
To further bridge the gap in higher secondary access, especially within rural sectors, Gond stated that the BJP-led government has upgraded approximately 200 schools to include Higher Secondary facilities. This expansion aims to resolve the infrastructural deficiencies that have historically forced students to discontinue their schooling.
“Under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the government has also extended the Mid-Day Meal scheme to students of Classes IX and X, to improve nutrition levels and boost school attendance. To further strengthen the education system, the state has recruited 21,515 teachers over the past 18 months and has announced plans to recruit an additional 45,000 teachers over the next three years,” he said.
