BHUBANESHWAR: Odisha government will soon launch Saheed Madho Singh Haath Kharcha scheme in the state to contain dropout rates among tribal students. This was informed by state parliamentary affairs minister Mukesh Mahaling in the State Assembly on Thursday.
According to the minister, a decision in this regard has already been taken in the state Cabinet.
“An annual grant of Rs 5,000 will be provided to every ST student in the state having passed Class 8 and 10 and taking admission in Class 9 and11 under the scheme. The scheme will benefit three lakh tribal students,” said Mahaling.
A total of Rs 156 crore has been allocated for the scheme in the annual state budget. The scheme will be implemented in a bid to curb the dropout rate among the tribal students in the state,” he added.
The dropout rate in Odisha’s secondary and higher secondary education is among the highest in India. This has been a matter of concern for the state government.
According to the Odisha Economic Survey 2023-24 report which was presented in the State Assembly on July 24, the dropout rate in the state at secondary education level (Class 9 and 10) is 27.29 per cent. This puts Odisha in the bracket of the states having highest dropout rates at secondary level.
The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) at primary and upper primary levels is also lower than the all-India average. The Economic Survey report said that while the students’ retention rate in the state has improved at the primary, elementary and secondary levels between 2017-18 and 2021-22, the state still has the highest secondary level dropout rate.
GER in Odisha at upper primary, secondary and higher secondary levels is 91.3 per cent, 80.4 and 43.6 per cent, respectively. However, GER at primary and upper primary levels is below the all-India average, it added.
While there are a total of 62,291 schools in the state, the enrollment figure stands at 75 lakh.
