Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Board on Wednesday approved 12 major policies, including a new flagship program called “Gyanodaya – Prosperity through Education”, which aims to ensure free education for students from Kindergarten (KG) to Postgraduate (PG) level. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Lok Seva Bhawan here.After the cabinet meeting, CM Majhi described the new policy of “Gyanodaya – Prosperity through Education” as a popular decision, stressing that under the new policy, the government has approved free education for all students of Odisha from Kindergarten (KG) to Postgraduate (PG) level.“I announced this earlier, and today the Cabinet has officially approved it. This historic decision will ensure that not a single student in Odisha is denied education or abandons education due to financial problems. This is a historic step to make higher education easy, appropriate and affordable for students in all parts of the state,” said Majhi.The Chief Minister emphasized that students enrolled in full-time courses in government-run and government-aided institutions under the School and Mass Education (S&ME) and Higher Education Department will receive full registration and enrollment fees.He announced that the new system will be implemented from the academic year 2026-27 and will cover students studying in Classes IX to XII in government and government-aided schools, as well as those pursuing full-time undergraduate and postgraduate studies in government universities, government colleges and government-aided colleges.Majhi said that the benefits under the scheme will be available only to students enrolled in full-time courses.Since education from Kindergarten to Class VIII is already free in Odisha, this fulfills the vision of the State Government to provide free education from KG to PG, said the Chief Minister.“This project is expected to increase the number of people enrolled by reducing the financial problems of families, especially those who belong to the economically weaker and disadvantaged groups. The number of people in schools and colleges will improve, reduce the number of people who drop out of education and help more students to go to higher education without any obstacles,” said the CM.This plan does not cover self-financing education or institutions, non-aided institutions, institutions and educational institutions operating under Public-Private Partnership (PPP), or professional programs.The Odisha cabinet approved an amount of Rs 895.57 crore in the first year and Rs 5,467.55 crore in five years to implement the project. Describing it as one of the government’s biggest initiatives in the education sector, Majhi said it would help more than 32 lakh students annually.“Gyanodaya – Success Through Education” is more than a salary waiver program. It is an important step in ensuring that every child and youth in Odisha has equal access to education, irrespective of their economic status. This initiative will empower every family through education, and is a testament to the strong commitment of the state government to realize the vision of ‘Samruddha Odisha’ based on knowledge, opportunity and overall development,” said CM Majhi.