Bhubaneswar: The government will bear the hostel fees of students at the Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas (OAVs) across the state.

The State Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, today approved a proposal in this regard.

The state government has established as many as 314 OAVs across Odisha to provide quality teaching in English medium at the secondary level to the students of rural areas.

It has also set up separate boys’ hostels and girls’ hostels for the students of OAVs.

Out of the total 628 hostels, 173 hostels (Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalays hostels) are being managed by the funds sanctioned under the Samagra Sikhya scheme.

The boarders of the remaining 455 hostels (314 boys’ hostels and 141 girls’ hostels) are required to pay Rs 2,000 per month each as hostel fees.

As per the Cabinet decision, the state government will bear the hostel fees of the boarders of these 455 hostels at the OAVs. As many as 45,000 students will be benefitted by this initiative.

The government will spend Rs 349.20 crore in five years from 2025 to 2030 to provide free boarding facilities at OAVs.