Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has begun implementing the ‘Gyanodaya – Shikshya Ru Samruddhi’ scheme by waiving admission fees in eligible educational institutions under the School and Mass Education Department from the 2026-27 academic session.
The move follows the State Cabinet’s approval of the landmark welfare initiative to provide free education from Kindergarten (KG) to Postgraduate (PG) level in eligible educational institutions across the state.
In a notification issued on July 8, the Department directed the Director of Higher Secondary Education and the Director of Secondary Education to ensure that no admission fee is collected from students during the admission process in eligible institutions.
Under the order, the admission fee waiver will apply to all eligible government, fully aided and newly aided Secondary Schools, as well as Government and Aided (488 and 662 Category) Higher Secondary Schools with effect from the 2026-27 academic session.
The department has instructed all field-level functionaries to strictly implement the decision and refrain from collecting admission fees from any student. It has also directed officials to make the necessary modifications to the Student Academic Management System portal to facilitate the scheme’s rollout.
According to the notification, detailed operational guidelines for implementing the Gyanodaya – Shikshya Ru Samruddhi scheme will be issued separately.
The latest directive marks the formal rollout of the state’s flagship education initiative, with the admission fee waiver serving as the first step towards implementing the Cabinet’s decision to provide free education from KG to PG in eligible educational institutions.ax
