Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched 37 PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalayas and 26 PM SHRI Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in Odisha. Dignitaries, officials, academicians, and students were also present at the event.
While speaking at the event ,Shri Pradhan expressed his gratitude for Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and said, these schools will work in full spirit of the National Education Policy 2020 and provide quality education to the students with comprehensive and inclusive education. He also revealed that the development of about 800 government schools in Odisha into PM Shri Schools is underway, bringing in over Rs. 1600 crore. Additionally, he urged Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik to sign an MoU for implementing the PM Shri Yojana in Government Schools of Odisha. This initiative aims to transform two schools in every block and urban area of Odisha into PM Shri Schools.
Shri Pradhan stated that to achieve the goal of a developed India by 2047, the education sector of the country needs to move forward. For that, rural children should be educated in the 21st century to prepare them for the future, he commented.
Earlier in the day, the Minister inaugurated the administrative and academic building, dormitory and guest house at the Oriental Language Centre of the Indian Language Institute, Bhubaneswar. Shri Pradhan, while speaking at the event, highlighted the importance of the development projects that will help to expand the facilities for training Odia, Shantali, Bengali, and Maithili.
Shri Pradhan also emphasized the unique identity of the Odia language, stating the sweetness of the language spoken in Sambalpur and Ganjam and the elegance of the language in Mayurbhanj and Dhenkanal. He also mentioned that the tribes of Odisha have different languages.
The Minister announced that, in celebration of Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas on 11 December, which honors the birth anniversary of freedom fighter and renowned Tamil poet Mahakabi Chinnaswamy Subramania Bharati, all schools and colleges will conduct lecture and essay competitions on the Odia language to inspire the new generation.
Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for implementing the National Education Policy 2020, Shri Pradhan noted that the policy prioritizes teaching not only language but also other subjects in the mother tongue. According to him, when children read texts in the language they speak and listen to from an early stage, it enhances their ability to research, reason, and analyze.
PM SHRI schools will showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and emerge as exemplar schools shaping the path towards a brighter future for students. They will create holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with key 21st-century skills.