Odisha govt announces free education to Covid-19 orphans

Odisha government on Monday announced that that it will provide free education to all children who have been lost their parents to the Covid-19 pandemic

Published on: Jun 14, 2021, 23:01:45 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha government on Monday announced that that it will provide free education to all children who have been lost their parents to the Covid-19 pandemic.

File photo: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. (ANI)

Advisor to women and child development department Sulata Deo said that the orphaned children will be included in the ‘Green Passage’ scheme of the state government.

“The entire educational expenses of such orphans studying in both schools and colleges and those who want to pursue medical, engineering and other courses will be taken care of by the state government. For higher education, there is the ‘Green Passage’ scheme implemented by the Odisha government. However, in the case of Covid-19 orphans, the scheme will be implemented to cover their education cost at all level. If the orphaned kid is studying at any private institution, the government will bear the costs as well,” said Deo.

So far 35 children in Odisha have lost both their parents due to Covid-19. On Monday, a 14-month-old boy in Nalco township of Angul district joined the list of orphans after losing his parents and grandmother to Covid-19 in quick succession.

Officials said the Green Passage scheme was earlier implemented to provide higher education free of cost to orphans in Odisha. However, now the entire expenses of education of Covid-19 orphaned children will be available through the scheme.

The ‘Green Passage’ scheme covers the costs of admission, tuition, and examination fees of children who want to pursue higher studies in the field of engineering, medicine and technology. However, for Covid-19 orphans, the ambit of the scheme has been increased.

At present, orphaned children are getting a pension of ₹2,000 per month. The same structure will be followed for Covid-19 orphaned children.

State social security and empowerment of persons with disability minister Ashok Panda said children who have lost both parents due to Covid-19 will be included in the ‘Madhu Babu Pension’ scheme in which ₹300 is given. The beneficiaries will be given an advance pension for June, July and August.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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