Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, today approved a new scheme ‘Gyanodaya—Shiksharu Samruddhi’ to provide free education from kindergarten (KG) to postgraduate (PG) level in the state.

The new scheme aims at making quality education more accessible, equitable and affordable for students across Odisha, said the Chief Minister.

Under the scheme, eligible students admitted to regular courses in government and government aided institutions will be provided complete waiver of admission fees, he added.

“The scheme will be implemented from the 2026-27 academic session. It will cover students enrolled in Class-IX to XII in government and government aided schools as well as students pursuing undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses in public universities, government colleges and government aided colleges. As education from KG to Class-VIII is already free in Odisha, this initiative completes the state government’s vision of providing free education from KG to PG,” stated the Chief Minister.

The benefits of the scheme will be available only to students of regular courses in government and government aided institutions. Self-financing courses or institutions, unaided institutions, PPP-mode institutions and courses as well as professional and technical programmes will not be covered under the scheme, said the state government.

The Cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 895.67 crore for the scheme for 2026-27 academic year. The state government will spend Rs 5,467.55 crore under the initiative over a period five years.

The scheme is expected to benefit over 32 lakh students across Odisha every year, added the state government.