ST/SC Dept Focuses On Building System Enablers For Transformation In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: While there are systems for the uplift of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people with a prominent focus on the education of children from these communities, the ST&SC, M&BCW department has taken a decision to prioritise building system enablers for transformation throughout the year. Instead of treating people as numbers, emphasis will be given to holistic development of individuals.

The system enablers include providing a Holistic Environment for Learning (HOSTEL), smart hostel management and monitoring system using IT, provision of support in terms of feeder portals and integration of help desks and “Mo Seva Kendras” for smooth and transparent scholarship disbursements, systematic improvement in monitoring activities in selective areas, creating collective futures and change enablers, focused approach in selective geographies for convergence in livelihood and more.

These approaches focus on building the much-needed system enablers for transformation across the year instead of creating more systems. The decision was taken during a two-day state-level conference of District Welfare Officers (DWO) and Project Administrators (PA) of Integrated Tribal Development Agencies (ITDA) of different districts organised at the academic wing of SCSTRTI, Bhubaneswar, on December 28 and 29. The conference was held under the chairmanship of Mrs Roopa Roshan Sahoo, Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary, ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department.

Inputs from the officials and insights from the discussion in the conference laid the way forward towards building system enablers for transformation in different areas in the education of ST & SC students and encouraging livelihood among the tribal people. The system enablers will be put into effect in January.

In the first phase of the Holistic Environment For Learning (HOSTEL) enabler project, the department targets to transform 1,000 hostels into smart hostels with dedicated digital learning corners. The focus will be to treat each student as an individual not as a number with a motto of “We are a name, not a Number”. The target is to bring saturation in all amenities with health and wellness being given priority. Games, aspiration walls and branding are other such elements for providing a holistic environment for learning.

To ensure better health and wellness of SC & ST students, the department today fixed a sum of Rs 200 per border for medical expenses towards health and wellness. Besides, the hostel management and monitoring will be smarter by using IT.

More focus is on ANWESHA hostels, asset registers, bringing of stories about achievements (SAAKAR) from the communities, and assistance under Observe to Act (O2A), which is a proforma tour that helps district profiles.

Besides, during the conference, social media and governance orientation was done to familiarise with the language of social media.

The focused approach in selective geographies for convergence in livelihood targets putting up robust mechanisms for bringing out the best in livelihood activities under Mission Jeevika, natural farming, Article 275(1), VanDhan Yojana (VDVK), OPELIP, skill development, FRA, collectives and so on.

Resolve to Solve is another aspect highlighted for which there will be Monday musings every Monday morning. Commissioner-cum-Secretary will connect to districts every Monday morning to listen to issues and resolve them.