“Anwesha” provides ST and SC pupils with high-quality education
Bhubaneswar: The “Anwesha” Urban Education Programme has revolutionized the way that ST and SC kids from isolated rural parts of Odisha get a high-quality education.
“Anwesha,” which is now being used in 17 districts around Odisha, has 22,340 pupils registered in 163 schools and 98 hostels, assisting the tribal children in developing excellence and competition.
It began as a pilot project in 2015-16 called “Creation of Urban Hostel Complexes and Exemption of Tuition Fees for ST, SC students,” and it has helped realize the dream of low-income parents whose children cannot attend public schools because of the prohibitive costs.
The initiative was first introduced in 2015 and was funded with Rs 569.90 crore. In 2020, it was renewed for another five years. The ST and SC pupils are chosen by a lottery mechanism, with a 70:30 student-to-female ratio and only BPL homes represented.
In addition to the current group of tutors, the ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department has added instructors of science, math, and English to the “Anwesha” dormitories. The fundamental idea behind tutoring was to serve as “after-school mentors” for the benefit of ST and SC pupils, building their confidence in receiving an English-medium education. The program covers 8,825 ST boys, 7,884 ST girls, 2,901 SC boys, and 2,730 SC girls and is implemented in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Deogarh, and Angul.
Subject-specific teachers and sports and recreation grants of Rs 40,000 to each hostel to provide indoor and outdoor game equipment for engaging the kids during leisure hours and building team spirit are just two of the many admirable ideas that the ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department has introduced.
According to department Commissioner-turned-secretary Roopa Roshan Sahoo, “These initiatives, under “Anwesha,” will eventually create a base for healthy ST and SC students with smart bodies and minds so that they do well in the CBSE/ICSE Board examinations.”
