Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Sharan Majhi on Friday announced free education from kindergarten to postgraduate levels in all government schools and colleges.
Majhi said the decision would strengthen the foundations of the state’s youth and contribute to long-term development.
“In order to make education truly free and universal, my government is announcing to make education from kindergarten to pre-primary level completely free,” he said, stressing that the decision will benefit all students, especially those who are economically disadvantaged.
“Odisha may become the first state in India to implement such a comprehensive policy of free education,” he told a press conference, adding that the real challenge lies in providing quality education.
Neither Al Majhi nor senior Ministry of Higher Education officials provided details about the expected financial impacts of the decision on the treasury.
There are 25 government universities in Odisha as well as others under the administrative control of the state government.
Majhi said the state has already implemented the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and launched an ambitious plan to set up Godabaresh Mishra Adarsha primary schools in every panchayat. Of the 2,200 schools planned for the first phase, the foundation stone for 322 schools has been laid. He said another 45,000 teachers would be appointed over the next three years, in addition to the 26,615 teaching and non-teaching staff already appointed.
Majhi said the previous Biju Janata Dal government did not introduce meaningful reforms in the education sector and focused only on cosmetic improvements like repainting of school buildings.
Majhi also announced the launch of the Prime Minister Annapurna Yojana, under which all beneficiaries of NFSA and SFSS schemes will get an additional 5 kg of rice per month for free. As a result, each beneficiary will now receive 10 kg of rice for free every month. The scheme will benefit 3.28 crore beneficiaries, covering about 80% of the state’s population. The state government will spend $8,813 crore annually on this programme.
Majhi said the state government had implemented 121 schemes over the last two years, which he claimed had contributed significantly to the vision of building a prosperous Odisha. Under Subhadra Yojana, Majhi said assistance has gone beyond $Rs 20,600 crore has been disbursed to over one lakh women between the ages of 21 and 60 over the last two years. He said that more than four SHGs have obtained bank credit value $38,795 crores, while 23.5 lakh women became Lakpati Didis.
On law and order, Majhi asserted that Odisha was now free of Maoist violence and claimed significant improvements in criminal justice outcomes. He said the conviction rate for crimes against women rose from 6.7 per cent in 2023 to 62 per cent by June 2025. After the implementation of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the overall conviction rate in the state rose to 87.6 per cent. He added that more than 21,000 new police stations have been established to strengthen law enforcement.
