Bhubaneswar, Dec 31 (IANS) Suryabanshi Suraj, Odisha’s Higher Education Minister, said on Tuesday here that the Union government has sanctioned Rs 670 crore for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) in Odisha.
Apart from this, the Minister also added that the Centre has also sanctioned an additional one per cent, amounting to Rs 6.7 crore, for the state under the Management Monitoring Evaluation and Research (MMER) grant.
He said that the state will bear 40 per cent (Rs 268 crore) of the total grant while the Centre will provide Rs 408.7 crore as its share.
The higher educational institutions in the state will receive Rs 676.7 crore under the PM -USHA scheme, he added.
He noted that the PM-USHA scheme has been categorised under four components which include Multi-Disciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERU), grants to strengthen universities (accredited and unaccredited) and colleges (accredited and unaccredited), gender inclusion and equity initiatives (GIEI).
According to the Minister, four universities — Ravenshaw University in Cuttack, Berhampur University in Ganjam, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University in Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur University in Odisha will get Rs 100 crore each under the MERU category.
The financial assistance under MERU has been provided to strengthen the infrastructure, and education and research facilities in these universities.
The universities present in the five districts of Odisha — Vikram Deb Autonomous College (university) in Koraput, Rajendra University in Balangir and the Kalahandi University in Kalahandi, Odisha State Open University and Gangadhar Meher University in Sambalpur have been allotted Rs 20 crore each under the grants to strengthen universities category.
Similarly, the districts including Bhadrak, Kandhamal, Nabaranagpur, Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur will get Rs 10 crore each under the GIEI to encourage the participation of women and other underprivileged groups in higher education through self-defence training programme, organisation of workshops for skill enhancement for self-employment, etc.
As many as 24 colleges in different districts will be provided Rs 5 crore each under the grants to strengthen the colleges category.
The Minister said that the funds provided under the PM-USHA scheme will be used for the improvement of classrooms, libraries, hostel rooms, enhancement of accessibility for differently-abled students, procurement of advanced laboratory equipment, etc., in the educational institutions in the state.
The state government signed an MoU with the Ministry of Education in September this year to launch the PM-USHA scheme in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and State Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj.
–IANS
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