Bhubaneswar: Odisha Cabinet Wednesday approved a scheme to provide free education from kindergarten (KG) to postgraduate (PG) level in all government and government-aided educational institutions in the state.
Addressing the media, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the cabinet cleared the ‘Gyanodaya-Shiksharu Samruddhi: KG to PG Free Education’ scheme, which will be implemented from the 2026-27 academic session.
He described the decision as “historic” and “first-of-its-kind” in the country.
Under the scheme, eligible students admitted to regular courses in government and government-aided institutions will receive a complete waiver of admission fees, he said.
The scheme will cover students in Classes IX to XII in government and government-aided schools, as well as those pursuing undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes in state public universities, government colleges and government-aided colleges, he said.
Since education up to Class VIII is already free in Odisha, the initiative effectively extends the free education up to PG level, the CM said.
However, self-financing courses or institutions, unaided institutions, PPP-mode institutions, as well as professional and technical courses, will not be covered under the scheme, he said.
Majhi said the scheme aims to ensure that no deserving student is deprived of education due to financial constraints and will help reduce the burden on economically weaker and disadvantaged families.
The move is expected to improve enrolment, retention and reduce dropout rates, while enabling more students to pursue higher education.
According to Majhi, the cabinet approved an estimated expenditure of Rs 895.57 crore during the first year and Rs 5,467.55 crore over a five-year period for the scheme’s implementation.
Nearly 32 lakh students of all government and government-aided educational institutions under the school and mass education and higher education departments will benefit from the decision.
PTI