Odisha govt starts providing dry ration, learning materials to students not attending schools

Odisha govt starts providing dry ration: The school and mass education department in Bhubaneswar has begun delivering dry sustenance and learning materials to students who cannot attend school due to disability or illness.

The chief secretary presided over a meeting on June 8 to implement the Orissa High Court’s order to provide dry rations and learning materials to all children who are unable to attend school.

In this regard, a programme was implemented to identify children aged 6 to 14 so that they could receive dried rations and educational materials. There are as many as 3,694 students in the state who are not attending school due to disability or health reasons. Twenty of them are not enrolled in school, according to official sources.

The department has instructed all district education officers (DEOs) to ensure that no child of school-age is excluded from participation in ongoing government programmes. It requested that the 20 children be enrolled in institutions in age-appropriate classes.

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The DEOs have been instructed to provide dry ration (rice) and preparation costs via direct benefit transfer (DBT) under PM POSHAN (midday meal) in accordance with the established norms. The department order stated, “Provide age-appropriate nationalised textbooks to all identified students who are unable to attend school.”

The department has also requested that these children be referred to adjacent health and wellness centres for health screenings and counselling.

“School instructors may be instructed to monitor the academic progress of identified students, counsel their parents, and make monthly visits to the students’ homes. The provision of dry rations and the cost of cookery for these children should be reflected in the monthly management information system (MIS) data, according to a letter sent to DEOs by department secretary Aswathy S.