Bhubaneswar, Jul 9: The Odisha government has formally implemented its landmark 'Gyanodaya – Shiksharu Samruddhi Yojana', making education free from Kindergarten (KG) to Postgraduate (PG) level in government and government-aided institutions across the state. The move comes days after the State Cabinet approved the scheme on July 1.

With the admission process currently underway, the School and Mass Education Department and the Higher Education Department have issued official notifications waiving admission fees for eligible students. The government has announced that students taking admission to Higher Secondary (Plus II), Undergraduate (UG), and Postgraduate (PG) courses in government and aided institutions will no longer have to pay admission fees.

The Higher Education Department has also clarified that students who have already paid admission fees during the first phase of the ongoing undergraduate admission process for the 2026-27 academic session will receive a full refund directly into their bank accounts.

On Wednesday, the first merit list for Plus II admissions was published. Students selected under the first merit list will not be required to pay any admission fee. The School and Mass Education Department has instructed the Director of Higher Secondary Education and the Director of Secondary Education to ensure immediate implementation of the fee waiver.

According to the official notification, the scheme has come into effect from the 2026-27 academic session. Admission fees have been completely waived in all government, fully aided, and newly aided high schools, as well as in government and aided higher secondary schools (Plus II colleges) across Odisha.

Similarly, the Higher Education Department has revised the undergraduate admission schedule, stating that no admission fee will be charged for regular courses offered by government colleges, universities, and government-aided colleges. However, students enrolling in self-financing courses will continue to pay the prescribed fees.

The government has clarified that the scheme does not cover self-financing institutions, unaided colleges, institutions operating under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, or professional and technical courses.

The Cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 895.57 crore for the first year of implementation, while the total projected outlay over the next five years stands at Rs 5,467.55 crore. The initiative is expected to significantly reduce the financial burden on students and their families while expanding access to higher education across the state.