Keonjhar: As many as 280 meritorious Class 10 students of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas (OAVs) in Keonjhar district were awarded with scholarship under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), Keonjhar for securing more than 60% marks on the eve of Teacher's Day today.

Total 280 Class 10 students of nine OAVs in the district received scholarship worth Rs 54.8 lakh.

With this, Keonjhar becomes the first district in the state to provide scholarships to meritorious Class 10 students in OAVs. The district Collector felicitated Principals of the nine OAVs and appreciated their efforts.

The initiative aims at encouraging students to successfully complete their schooling and also supporting them financially to pursue higher studies. Last year, scholarships for meritorious Class 10 students of Government and aided schools under Board of Secondary Education (BSE) was initiated under DMF Keonjhar.

Despite the pandemic, more than 280 students from nine OAVs in the district scored over 60 % marks while over 45 students scored over 90 % marks in Class 10 examination, conducted by CBSE. Master Amrit Raj Biswal of OAV, Salapada Anandapur in the district has topped among all OAVs by securing 99.4 %.