Odisha: Guidelines issued for Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojana

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has issued operational guidelines for the implementation of Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojana which aimed to check the drop-out rate among the students belonging to the Scheduled Tribes studying in Class 9 and 10 in government and aided schools across the state.

The students belonging to the Scheduled Tribe community in Odisha will be provided with one-time financial assistance of Rs 5,000 under this flagship scheme of the BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

As per the resolution issued by the Odisha SC and ST Development department, a good number of tribal students are getting enrolled at the elementary level in the state.

However, high dropouts are also being noticed among the tribal students after class 8 and class 10 causing less enrollment in Secondary and Higher Secondary levels, respectively.

In order to reduce the dropout rate, and to encourage Scheduled Tribe (ST) students to pursue higher education without any major hindrance, the state government has launched "Shahid Madho Singh Haath Kharcha Yojna".

Under this scheme, ST students passing out from Class 8 and joining in Class 9 and similarly from Class 10 to Class 11, will receive a onetime incentive amount of Rs 5,000, the resolution issued on Wednesday read.

The department also noted that the ST students getting benefits under any other scholarship schemes are also eligible to avail the incentive amount under the Sahid Madho Singh Scheme.

It also asserts that this one-time financial aid will help in increasing the enrollment status in Class 9 and Class 11 in different government and government-aided institutions.

As per the guidelines, "Under the scheme, eligible ST students after completing their Class 8 and Class 10 and soon after taking admission into Class 9 and CIass 12, respectively, will be provided with Rs 5,000 as a one-time incentive amount as Haath Kharcha. The incentive amount will be provided after enrollment in the respective classes, ensuring that student is attending classes regularly after enrollment".

This financial aid will help the tribal students meet expenses for their incidental requirements.