Bhubaneswar: In an effort to increase attendance in schools, the Odisha government has decided to further expand the scope of a scheme introduced in the state five years ago. The government has now included students of secondary schools in addition to those of primary and upper primary schools in remote areas.
Noting that many students stop going to schools as they have to travel long distances to attend classes, the government is now set to bear the transportation expenses also of the secondary school students staying in remote and far-flung areas.
Official sources said that the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) has sent letters to all the district education officers (DEOs) about the decision.
A total of 35,076 students of different government schools in 30 districts of the state will be benefitted by the move aimed at increasing attendance and check drop-out rate.
As per the scheme, students of primary schools who have to travel more than one kilometres get financial assistance towards their transportation. The facility is available to upper primary school students staying more than 3 km from their educational institutions.
Now, secondary school students staying more than 5 km from their educational institutions will be given transportation allowance with the government expanding the scope of the scheme.
Officials said that each eligible student will get Rs 6,000 per annum for transportation. Students with more than 75 per cent attendance are eligible for the facility.