Sundargarh (Odisha): Renewed infra, modern facilities and an enabling ambience at the government high schools in Odisha are fostering quality education and learning.

The landscape of high school education in Odisha is going through a whirlwind change. At the heart of this development is the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The High School Transformation programme under ‘Mo Sarkar 5T’ initiative launched by him has created a broad scope towards nurturing the dreams and aspirations of thousands of students at government secondary schools spread across urban, semi urban and rural areas. 

As part of the innovative programme, steered by senior bureaucrat VK Pandian, Secretary to CM (5T) Govt of Odisha, the government high schools in the state are being revamped phase wise to stay ahead of the modern trends in education and learning. The transformed schools are having contemporary infrastructure like smart classrooms with audio visual learning aid, expanded library with reading room, e-Library facility and computer labs, modern science labs, upgraded indoor and outdoor sports facility, clean drinking water and separate toilets for boys and girls. Thus, the old fashioned govt high schools are now renewed as centres of excellence in terms of infrastructure and learning environment.

The High School Transformation Programme in Odisha, an example of good governance, primarily intends at providing the ambience for holistic growth of students through teaching, practical learning, in depth reading and connecting with technology while surrounded by an enabling environment. Thus, the infrastructure as well as teaching pedagogy has been uplifted to be at par with modern private schools. Now, no student would hesitate to study in the govt high schools as it provides them ample opportunities to dream and fulfill those like their counterparts in any modern private school. 

“I was concerned while coming from private to a govt school due to a family reason. But after experiencing smart classroom, new science lab and modern library facilities etc at my school, revamped under 5T, I am now confident of achieving my dreams,” shares Himanshu Mahanandia, a student at Kumjharia Govt High School under Kuarmunda Block in Sundargarh district.

Under this innovative programme, the government high schools in Ganjam and Sundargarh districts have taken centre stage in the state. In the first phase of the transformation work in Sundargarh district, 67 government high schools across all 17 blocks have been rebuilt as per the new standards. The district administration led by Collector and DM Nikhil Pavan Kalyan has taken care to develop the centres of education with best of infra and learning facilities. Apart from the physical infrastructure, key elements like science laboratory and physical and e-Library are designed to address the need of young minds.

Geographically a hilly and forested area and the 2nd largest district of the state, Sundargarh is a tribal dominated land situated in the western end of Odisha. The district is bordered by Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The land, rich in mineral wealth, was once known to be backward. But continued welfare initiatives and innovative programmes, people’s participation, and application of technology for effective governance has established the district as a centre piece of development.

Sundargarh is also known as the breeding ground of Indian hockey. The district has given numerous national and international level champions to Indian hockey from time to time. Odisha, the principal sponsor of the Indian hockey men and women teams, is going to host the FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 simultaneously at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. For the occasion, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has given a name to Rourkela, the smart city coming under Sundargarh district, by building the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, the largest hockey facility in the country. The district administration, under high school transformation programme has been promoting hockey among other sports at the school and rural levels.

“Our school didn’t have a proper playground earlier. Under 5T, we got upgraded sports infrastructure and well maintained playground. I play hockey and with such facilities at our school, I will play hard and hope to represent Odisha in the national and international level,” says an excited Sonia Kerketta, a student of class 10 at KCP Panchayat High School in Lephripara block, Sundargarh.

The science education in the govt high schools in Sundargarh district has become more interesting and engaging for the students with interventions under 5T programme. The schools are now having well defined science laboratory, where the students can touch, feel and experiment with a range of scientific equipment and apparatus.

The district administration has worked with a comprehensive vision to make each science lab dynamic which will spur the scientific temper among students and encourage them towards research and innovative thinking. The lab is stocked with items like human body models, tools like microscope, telescope, plasma ball, and other experiments etc making learning fun for students. Furthermore, the science teachers of the transformed high schools are empowered with training and orientation to explore these facilities. 

“Now our school has got a modern science lab. So, we can do various scientific experiments using modern tools which were earlier limited to theory. This is so interesting,” shares Sandhyarani Bhoi, a student of Govt U.G High School, Kendudihi, Sundargarh. With this new exposure, thousands of high school students like Sandhyarani in Odisha can now aspire to become doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers and researchers etc.

“Any initiative that we take should be systemic and sustainable. When science labs were being discussed, we thought to bring in the right model which can make students learn and get hands on many scientific aspects improving their curiosity and scientific temper. Our model is one of the best in the country and I’m sure the results will show them too,” informs Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, the Collector and DM Sundargarh as he narrates his experience in transferring the policy to practice while handling the high school transformation programme at the grassroots level.

“The unique feature of our science labs is that it follows STEM model of NCERT and even includes robotics and tinkering aspects. We are also providing science coordinators to ensure adaption and regular hands on training to both students as well as teachers,” further adds the Collector and DM Sundargarh.

High school transformation is one of the most effective good governance models that can truly aid the students in realizing their dreams and enable them to aspire for bigger things in life, all of these were not thought of previously. A Govt school can now provide state of the art facilities at par with any high standard international school thereby providing access to quality education for all sections of the society.

On a review visit of the High School Transformation Programme under 5T, senior bureaucrat and Secretary to CM (5T) VK Pandian had a tour to witness the revamped high school facilities in Sundargarh district. He had also appreciated the work done in the district under High School Transformation Programme at the launching event of the same. Sundargarh received applause from the government for achieving the first phase transformation work in record time. /BI/