Completely Free Education From KG to PG: CM Mohan Charan Majhi

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has announced a historic decision that could bring about significant changes to the state's education system. He said that education from Kindergarten (KG) to Post-Graduation (PG) will be made completely free in all government schools and colleges across the state.

The aim of this decision is to facilitate access to higher education for children from economically disadvantaged families and to make education truly accessible to all.

At a press conference on Friday, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced that no fees would be charged for education from KG to PG in any of the state's government educational institutions. He said that this move has been taken to make education truly universal and accessible to all.

He expressed hope that students from economically disadvantaged families, in particular, would benefit the most from this decision. According to the Chief Minister, Odisha is set to become the first state in the country to apply a completely free education policy.

The cost of education offers a significant challenge for many families. Expenses ranging from the school level to college and university often act as a barrier to higher education for many students.

This new policy is expected to help relieve financial pressure on students, potentially increase higher education enrollment rates, provide greater opportunities for students from rural and underserved areas, reduce dropout rates, and facilitate the development of a skilled and educated youth workforce.

CM Majhi has clearly said that only providing free education is not enough; improving the quality of education is equally important.

He remarked that the real challenge lies in ensuring quality education. With this objective in mind, the government has already applied the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and prepared the process of establishing new educational institutions.

The government has planned to establish 'Godabarish Mishra Adarsha Primary Schools' in every panchayat across the state. Plans are in place to construct 2,200 schools in the first phase, with foundation stones already laid for 322 of them. The government announces that this action will further strengthen educational infrastructure.

A major plan has been adopted to recruit teachers in order to improve the quality of education. The Chief Minister announced that an additional 45,000 teachers will be recruited over the next three years, following the earlier recruitment of 26,615 teaching and non-teaching staff. This initiative is expected to significantly reduce the shortage of teachers in schools and colleges.

On that day, alongside education-related announcements, the Chief Minister also announced another significant welfare scheme: the Chief Minister Annapurna Yojana. Under this scheme, beneficiaries of the NFSA and SFSS programs will receive an additional 5 kg of rice, bringing their total monthly entitlement of free rice to 10 kg. Approximately 3.28 crore people, comprising about 80 per cent of the state's total population, will benefit from this initiative, which entails an annual cost of around 8,813 crore.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has applied a total of 121 schemes over the past two years. Under the Subhadra Yojana, financial assistance exceeding ₹20,600 crore has been provided to more than 1 crore women aged between 21 and 60. Additionally, over 4 lakh self-help groups have received bank loans, and 23.5 lakh women have been established as ‘Lakhpati Didis’.

I am writing about this subject because education is the most crucial foundation for a society's development. Many talented students are forced to drop out of their studies due to financial constraints. If this action by the Odisha government is successfully applied, it could serve as a model not only for students in that state but also for those in other states across the country.