Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday ordered upgrade of 14 high schools meant for scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) students into higher secondary schools.
Majhi also directed to improve amenities and quality of food and to give highest priority to health, hygiene and safety of children staying in various residential schools run by the ST and SC development, minorities and backward classes welfare department.
“At least 10 high schools should be upgraded to higher secondary schools this year. There is a need to upgrade more high schools to reduce dropout rates,” the CM said during a review meeting of the department here.
Emphasising on improving the condition of hostels in various primary schools, Majhi asked secretaries to visit the institutes for regular inspection and monitor their functioning.
Officials said many of the hostels are being repaired as their condition is not good. In the first phase, as many as 301 hostels are being renovated in Koraput district, official sources said. “There is a need to improve the condition of hostels in almost all tribal areas and the ongoing work must be expedited,” Majhi said and also ordered to increase the capacity of several schools to 100 students.
He also asked the officers to expedite the construction of new Ekalavya Model schools by providing required permissions. Of the sanctioned 114 Ekalavya schools for Odisha, only 32 are operational, while 15 more are scheduled to open this year, sources said.
Majhi also asked officers to implement various schemes and programmes meant for tribal children such as ‘Madho Singh Hatakharcha Yojana’, Anwesha, PM-Janman, forest land rights and special development councils to contain the dropout rate in the schools run by the department.
Minister Nityananda Gond, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, development commissioner Anu Garg, additional chief secretary to the CM, Nikunja Bihari Dhal, additional chief secretary, department of revenue and forest and environment, Satyabrata Sahu and secretary of ST & SC department, Roopa Roshan Sahoo, among others, were present.

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