Bhubaneswar: Minister of School & Mass Education Samir Ranjan Dash Wednesday announced that all state-government run schools will be provided free shoes, uniforms and identity cards.
The department has also decided to issue ID cards to them in order to categorically identify them and also maintain a healthy decorum.
“Earlier, the students belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category were provided with school uniforms. This new initiative to cover all school students will be launched very soon,” minister Dash added.
The decision to provide free uniforms and shoes to all school students will alleviate the inferiority among those deprived of the facility. This will also encourage parents to enroll them in govt-run schools, Dash said.
No such decision has been taken on functioning of schools from 9:30AM to 4:30PM. Schools will continue to function in the usual timing of 10AM-4PM.
The SME Minister, Samir Ranjan Dash, has been making surprise visits to several schools and educational offices in order to strengthen and systematize the Odisha educational system. Dash stated that the teachers have already been sensitized in this regard and that it’s only a matter of time when the management will again fall into place.
The minister when visited the BEO office at around 10.40am Wednesday, found only two employees present. The reporting time for all employees is 10.00am. Peeved at the development, Das instructed the chief officer of BEO to mark the late employees as absent and deduct a day’s salary from their monthly emoluments.
PNN