BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated a three-day long state-level programme Sargiful 2018 at Adivasi Ground here Wednesday.
Around 925 students and 142 teachers from sevashrams, Ashram Schools, High Schools, EMRS and education complexes from all thirty districts, which are run by the ST and SC development department, have participated in the programme. Another state-level science cum agri-based exhibition by school children was also ingaurated by Patnaik on the sidelines of the event.
Patnaik said, “The one thing that every student must earn in their lives is education. One can make his place and parents proud by being an educated man. More than 6 lakhs students are studying in state-run ST and SC schools across the state. More than 20,000 students among them are studying free of cost.”
“I also want to announce that today the foundation stone for Janajati Haat will be laid. The Haat will house amphitheatre, workshop and food court among other facilities in modern lines. Rs 10 Crore will be spent to create this amazing haat for the benefit of the tribal communities.”
“SARGIFUL is the manifestation of purity. Around 50,000 students had participated in various district-level competitions out of which 925 students are present here. Last year, the metric pass percentage of SC and ST schools was 85%. Around 6 lakh hostels were also constructed for tribal students,” said R Raghu Prasad, I.F.S. Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Govt of Odisha.
Minister of State for commerce and transports department Ramesh Chandra Majhi said, “Like every year, Sargiful festival is being organised for more than five lakh tribal students from more than 7000 hostels across state. I would like to thank CM Patnaik and his constant efforts to benefit OBC, SC and ST students. No other state offers so many facilities for tribal students like Odisha.”
Member secretary A B Ota and Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena were also present at the event. Many high school certificate exam toppers were felicitated at the event. Pratiksha Paramita Pradhan of a girl’s high school Sundergarh, Marshal Murmu of Tapovan high school, Khordha and Krishna Nayak of the same school were feted by the CM with a shield and certificate.
Cultural programmes will be staged on these three days of festival besides the science exhibition. Around 132 students with highest marks in HSC exam 2018 and 50 high schools with best performances would be felicitated during the festival.
Odissi, creative dance, wall, tribal, screen painting, creative writing,3D Street art, photography, instrumental music, science, math game, puppetry and lamp shade related workshops will be held every day from 8:30 am to 12.30 pm for both senior and junior groups. All sorts of arrangements for food, lodging, transport and entertainment have been organised for the participants by the department. The participating students and teachers will have the opportunity to interact with each other during the festival and disseminate and propagate the messages among the students in their area.
Sangita Murmu, a student of Ainthapalli high school said, “The festival is like a picnic for us where we meet other school children and learn about science, art and crafts. I am quite excited to be here.”
