Odisha’s Education Overhaul: Turning CAG Insights into Strategic Action

20 Dec 2025, 07:24 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

The Odisha government is pivoting from a critical evaluation of its current school infrastructure toward a massive, block-level expansion of higher education. By addressing the gaps identified by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) through a new “Viksit Odisha” roadmap, the state aims to build a seamless pipeline from rural schools to world-class universities.

The Catalyst: Addressing the CAG Performance Audit

A recent performance audit by the CAG provided a clear “nutshell” view of the challenges facing rural government education. The report highlighted that while the vision for education is strong, the execution at the grassroots level needs reinforcement. Key areas identified for improvement included:

Infrastructure Utilization: The need to optimize the Student-Classroom Ratio and ensure every rural school is fully equipped with furniture and modern amenities.
Fund Management: A call for more efficient utilization of allocated budgets, such as the Samagra Shiksha funds, to ensure resources reach the students directly.
Incentive Delivery: Streamlining the distribution of cycles, uniforms, and scholarships to prevent dropouts and encourage students to transition to higher secondary levels.

The Solution: Strengthening Every Block

In a direct move to resolve these issues and elevate the state’s academic standing, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj announced a transformative roadmap during a sensitization workshop on Friday. The plan focuses on four key parameters: Access, Equity, Quality, and Global Standards.

Bringing Education to the Block Level To solve the “distance barrier” that often leads to rural dropouts, the government aims to establish two higher education institutions in every block and at least one Multidisciplinary Education and Research University (MERU) in every district by 2047. This ensures that the infrastructure gaps identified by the CAG are met with high-quality local alternatives.
Ambitious Enrolment & Global Ranking Goals The Minister outlined specific targets to ensure the state remains competitive on a global stage:

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): Target to reach 50% by 2036 and 60% by 2047.
Global Standing: The state aims to place two Odisha institutions among the world’s top 500 universities by 2036.

Inclusive Growth and Legislative Reforms To ensure “Education for All,” the government is implementing solid frameworks to support backward classes and streamline faculty recruitment:

SEBC Reservations: A landmark 11.25% reservation has been provided for SEBC students in higher education admissions.
Scholarship Support: The Videsh Sikhshya Bruti scheme will support SC/ST students with family incomes below ₹12 lakh, providing up to ₹50 lakh for overseas education.
Uniform Teacher Recruitment: The Cabinet has approved the Odisha State Public Universities (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill, 2025, ensuring a consistent reservation framework to fill vacancies across all state universities.

The roadmap for “Viksit Odisha” is an ambitious shift that turns the CAG’s recent findings into a blueprint for reform. However, for these block-level institutions and global rankings to see the daylight, the state must transition from policy to solid execution. Success hinges on ensuring that infrastructure development, teacher recruitment, and fund utilization are managed with the same rigor as the vision itself, transforming rural education into a robust gateway for the next generation.