Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The state of Odisha’s government has resolved to treat private and unaided schools that teach in the Odia language equally to government schools by offering free textbooks to its students. The program has been implemented as part of the government’s 5T plan. The program will be put into effect beginning with the 2024–25 school year. Students in grades 1 through 8 will get free textbooks from the state government.
More than 5 lakh children from 3,620 private and unaided schools in the state would benefit, according to the government. The state government has set aside Rs 9.43 crore annually for this.
“The children studying in private Odia medium schools have been performing well in the annual high school certificate examination and have also been demonstrating their skills in various fields,” stated a news statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in this regard. The state government has already started giving away free textbooks to all kids attending public schools in the state as well as to Odia youngsters living in places like Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
