Keonjhar: Odisha became the first state in the country to get the ISO 9001:2015 certification for its tribal hostels. As many as 44 hostels under the ST and SC Development Department in Keonjhar and Rourkela have been awarded with the certificate.
The ISO 9001:2015 certification was awarded to those tribal hostels that avail quality amenities for their scheduled category students, The amenities are safe building, functional toilet, food provision, proper dining and health environment.
Chief Minsiter Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Mission Suvidya’ scheme December, 2019, in order to bring a qualitative shift in accommodation facilities provided to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students residing in hostels run by ST/SC Development Department in a phased manner.
To render quality amenities to students in these hostels, the department signed an MoU with the Quality Council of India (QCI).
The QCI conducted a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of ST-SC hostels leading to quality assurance and sustenance and helped the department achieve ISO 9001: 2015 certification for 44 hostels.
Sources said, 60 hostels out of 156 hostels in Keonjhar and 12 hostels out of 90 hostels in Sambalpur were selected for intensive interventions of gap filling in the first phase.
District teams had put in a good deal of efforts to make the hostels eligible for ISO 9001: 2015 certification. However, before the lockdown the audit team was able to visit 32 hostels in Keonjhar and 12 hostels in Sambalpur for the final assessment.
All 44 hostels have qualified the assessment parameters for ISO certification. Reports said, assessment of the remaining 28 hostels will be conducted after normalization in the state.
