Bhubaneswar: After announcing its decision to provide free textbooks up to Class 10, the Odisha government is now set to extend similar facility to students for bus travel.
School and Mass Education minister Nityananda Gond has announced that school students will be allowed to travel free in state government run buses.
The Minister told reporters on Friday that school students will be allowed to travel free of cost on state government run buses plying under the ‘Mukhyamantri Bus Seva’ scheme.
However, students will have to be in school uniforms and must carry identity cards to avail the benefit of free bus ride, Gond said.
The announcement coincided with the state government’s decision to provide free textbooks to students up to Class 10. While previously only SC and ST students received free textbooks, the government will now provide free textbooks to all students. Students from Class I to Class 10 will receive free textbooks, the Minister added.
The state government has also decided to merge the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) in a major step aligned with the NEP-2020, he said.
