Mayurbhanj (Odisha) [India], December 28 (ANI): State Education Minister Nityananda Gond asserted that the Mukhyamantri Bus Seva, which provides free commute to students, will greatly benefit students from far-flung areas.

Highlighting the importance of the scheme, Gond said on Saturday, 'The Mukhyamantri Bus Seva will greatly benefit students from far-flung areas by enabling them to study free of cost.'

He further emphasised the scheme's role in encouraging more students to study.

'This step will surely encourage more students to pursue education and will contribute to the development of the state and the nation...,' he told ANI.

Gond emphasised the need to reduce dropout rates. On those lines, a Child Tracking Survey was conducted in the state, through which the reasons can be analysed and potential enrollees identified.

'No other state has ever done this before; we did it first in Odisha by carrying out a Child Tracking Survey. Through this, we investigate the reasons for drop-outs in students under 18 years of age and then by providing those resources, we are trying to enrol them all in schools,' the minister told ANI.

On Saturday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the sports complex and laid the foundation stone for development projects at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, in Odisha.

Pradhan said NIT Rourkela ranked 13th in the engineering category of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) this year.

He said he visited the campus to congratulate the institute and extend his best wishes.

Highlighting that India is on the cusp of a technological transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Pradhan said the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' will also pave the way for a developed Odisha by 2036.

He expressed confidence that NIT Rourkela will play a key role in this journey.

Earlier, on Friday, Pradhan laid the foundation stones for Rs 250-crore development projects at Rairakhol, on the occasion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 101st birth anniversary on Thursday.

Speaking at the occasion, the Education minister said, 'We celebrated Shushasan Diwas on the occasion of the 101st birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Projects worth around Rs 250 crore were unveiled here today.'

The Union Minister also inaugurated Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya in Sambalpur. (ANI)