Odisha Govt to provide free textbooks to students of all Odia medium schools

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], August 11 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has given the directions for providing free textbooks to the students of all private and non-aided Odia medium schools of the state.
"The steps to provide free textbooks will be taken up under 5T initiative of State state government and will be implemented in the academic year 2024–25," a press statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.
"The state government will provide free textbooks to students from Class I to VIII. This will benefit more than 5 lakh students of 3620 private and Non-aided Odia medium schools in the state. For this, the state government will spend 9 crore 43 lakh rupees annually," it added.
The statement noted the children studying in private Odia medium schools have been performing well and the state government is also providing free textbooks to Odia children residing in other states.
"Children studying in private Odia medium schools have been performing well in the annual High School Certificate Examinations and have also demonstrated their skills in various fields. The state government has been providing free textbooks to students of all government schools in the state and also providing free textbooks to Odia children residing in other states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat," it said.