Bhubaneswar: MLAs of the Opposition BJD and Congress walked out of the Odisha Assembly Tuesday, alleging that the BJP government in the state “has decided to scrap” a scheme under which SC and ST students study in English-medium schools at full government expense.
ST & SC Development Minister Nityananda Gond said the tenure of the scheme was till 2024-25, and it is now under the consideration of the government for further extension.
The previous BJD government had launched the ‘Anwesha Yojana’ in 2015. Under the scheme, students belonging to ST and SC communities from economically and socially marginalised backgrounds are educated in English-medium schools in cities, and the government pays for tuition, uniforms, books, transportation, accommodation, and nutritional care.
Initiating a debate on the issue, Congress legislature party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said it was shocking that tribal and Dalit students are denied their rights by a government headed by a tribal leader, CM Mohan Charan Majhi.
“The BJP government has stopped a scheme that created hope among tribals and Dalits. This is the BJP government’s ‘Manuwadi’ attitude, aimed at keeping tribals and Dalits marginalised and hindering their progress,” he alleged.
Noting that 40 per cent of the state’s population were tribals and Dalits, Kadam said, “Our CM is a tribal, and therefore, we expected that STs and SCs would get their benefits. But, things are totally different.”
BJD MLA Ganeswar Behera said the dropout rate in Odisha came down to 18.1 per cent in 2023-24, from 33 per cent in 2021-22, because of schemes such as Anwesha Yojana launched by the previous government.
“The Chief Minister himself, at public meetings, has announced that the government is committed to providing quality education to tribal students. Is this the example of providing quality education by denying them admission to English-medium schools in cities,” he asked.
Replying to the Opposition’s charge, Gond said that the scheme was launched in 2015, and around 20,473 students are staying in different hostels and getting quality education across 17 districts.
“There has been no fresh admission in the 2025-26 academic year, as the scheme should be reviewed once in five years. The tenure of the scheme was till 2024-25. Now it is under consideration of the government for further extension,” he said.
The minister said the BJP government has taken a slew of initiatives for the education of ST and SC students.
“We have launched the Madho Singh Hata Kharcha scheme to arrest dropouts, and also many ST and SC students are studying in Eakalavya Schools. The government also runs residential schools for the tribal and Dalit students. We have also raised the scholarships for the ST and SC students,” he said.
PTI
