Odisha to provide Rs 5,000 to 3 lakh tribal students to reduce dropouts

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday announced an annual financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to around three lakh tribal students of the state for their studies.

The announcement was made by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling in the Assembly.

He said every tribal student having passed 8th/10 grade class and taking admission 9th/11th grade will be provided Rs 5,000 annually as an incentive amount.

The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday night.

The minister said every tribal student will get Rs 5,000 under a new scheme called 'Madho Singh Haath Kharch Yojana'. The scheme will check tribal students' dropouts in the state, the minister told the Assembly.

Mahaling said around 3 lakh students belonging to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category will benefit under the Madho Singh Haath Kharch Yojana, for which the state government has allocated Rs 156 crore in the budget this year.

The scheme will be implemented this year.

With the help of this financial assistance, the students can continue their education without worrying about financial troubles, he said.

The scheme was implemented as the dropout rate among the tribal students at the secondary education level remains one of the biggest concerns for the government.