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The Odisha government has intensified its efforts to curb school dropouts, successfully re-enrolling more than 60,000 students across the state through targeted interventions and community outreach programmes, Minister of School and Mass Education of Odisha, Nityananda Gond, said on Wednesday.
Speaking to ANI, Gond said the state government has rolled out multiple initiatives to ensure that every child has access to quality education and to significantly reduce 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, around 1,83,216 dropout students were identified statewide. Following sustained engagement with families and counselling of parents, at least 60,863 students have so far been brought back into the formal education system, with necessary facilities and support provided to them, the minister said. "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. He further said that in a bid to improve access to higher secondary education, particularly in rural and underserved areas, the BJP-led state government has upgraded around 200 schools with Higher Secondary facilities. The move seeks to address long-standing infrastructure gaps that have contributed to school dropouts. "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. (ANI)
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