BHUBANESWAR: The double-engine government in the state is working on mission mode to universalise access to quality education, promote equity and elevate nutritional and educational status of children, said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday.
Pradhan was holding a meeting with the School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond and other department officials to review the school education landscape of Odisha. The meeting discussed upgradation of school infrastructure, and preparation of textbooks and teaching-learning materials in alignment with the national curriculum framework (NCF), capacity-building of teachers, implementation of National Education Policy-2020 and other sectoral schemes, including PM Poshan and Samagra Shiksha.
The Union minister lauded the state government for its efforts to incorporate local and cultural elements of Odisha into the state curriculum to ensure textbooks and teaching-learning materials resonate with the unique spirit and needs of Odisha.
He also informed that the Odisha government has launched a comprehensive door-to-door survey to identify out-of-school children with the objective to mainstream every child into the education system with targeted interventions in the state. Complimenting the state government for the initiative, Pradhan said he is happy that it is making significant efforts in this direction.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre is committed to support Odisha in redefining and modernising education to meet the 21st century aspirations and pave way for a Viksit Odisha and Viksit Bharat,” he said.
School and Mass Education department authorities said the door-to-door drive has been launched to enrol such children in schools from the new academic session (2025-26) that has commenced from April this year.