Bhubaneswar: Students from Classes VI to X in PM SHRI schools across Odisha will soon receive training in financial literacy. The decision was taken during the first Governing Body meeting of the ‘Panchasakha Shiksha Setu’ (PSS) held today under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.

An MoU between PSS and the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) will be signed soon to implement the initiative.

The meeting, held in the Chief Secretary’s Conference Hall, reviewed the progress of various programmes launched after the first and second Executive Committee meetings. In the earlier meetings, 1,569 projects worth ₹26 crore were approved across 25 districts, combining alumni contributions with matching government funds.

Appreciating the ongoing efforts, Ahuja highlighted the importance of alumni-led development and called for sustained collaboration to strengthen the education ecosystem in the state.

The Governing Body also approved the comprehensive development of 51 heritage schools identified under the ‘Aitihya Vidyalaya’ initiative. Additionally, it cleared a proposal for constructing mid-day meal halls in selected schools through CSR funding.

The annual budget of the organization, along with several programme plans and allocations for the upcoming period, was also sanctioned.

Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the School and Mass Education Department and Vice-Chairperson of PSS, Shalini Pandit, stressed the need to further strengthen alumni engagement in school development.

Among those present were PSS Member-Convenor and Secretary Ananya Das, Special Secretary Rajlaxmi Das, Director of Elementary Education Balmukund Bhuiyan, Director of Secondary Education Birendra Karkara, Director of Higher Secondary Education Niyati Pattnaik, Joint Director (ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare) Tuku Barik, Director (Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water) Vineet Bhardwaj, and senior officials from various departments including Collectors of Kendrapara and Sundargarh, Additional Collector of Malkangiri, and Special Programme Officer Maniprasad Mishra.