Patnaik dedicates 200 hostels for SC/ST students

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today dedicated 200 news hostels for dalit and tribal students and launched a programme for distribution of 20,000 forest land documents among beneficiaries here.
Education is the only means for tribals and dalits to join the mainstream of the society, Patnaik said, adding "Odisha is the leading state in the country for providing education to the students of backward communities. My government always gives priority to the education of the tribal and dalit students of the state."
The government has set up more than 1600 schools and constructed more than 5000 hostels for the students belonging to the "downtrodden" section and has also implemented Akankhya and Anwesha schemes to provide opportunity to about 26,000 SC, ST and dalit students to study in public schools in urban areas, he said.

The government has set up 10 Kalinga Model Residential Schools for poor students of and backward communities in the state. "Classes would begin in these schools from 2018," he said.
Inaugurating the forest land patta distribution, Patnaik assured the beneficiaries that they would be included in all social security programmes.