In alignment with these national and global commitments, the Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) is providing budgetary support to the School and Mass Education (S&ME) Department to improve the educational landscape through implementation of various projects across 08 mining district of Odisha. The projects include infrastructure upgradation in the form of additional classrooms, girls’ and boys’ hostel, core buildings for Odisha Adarsh Vidyalayas, dining halls, playgrounds etc., introducing technology-enabled classrooms with e-Libraries and equipping schools with modern science laboratories to enhance the quality of learning. OMBADC’s educational initiative is aiding in the transformation of 1,867 elementary schools, 512 secondary schools, 1,604 high schools under the High School Transformation initiative, 29 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) and 76 Odisha Adarsha Vidyalayas (OAVs).Further, OMBADC in collaboration ITDAs and DWOs under the ST & SC Development Department, has prioritized creation, augmentation, repairing and maintenance of the infrastructure in the ST & SC Development Department schools especially in mining affected districts like Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh. In addition, funding support has also been provided to SCSTRTI Bhubaneswar to carry out a research study on “Impact assessment of development interventions on the socioeconomic conditions and culture of the major tribal communities and exploring their felt needs for holistic development in the mineral bearing areas of the state”.OMBADC is also supporting the Higher Education Department by funding infrastructure development in two key institutions – Narasingh Choudhury Autonomous College, Jajpur and Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada, Mayurbhanj. This initiative will strengthen the higher education ecosystem and broaden access to quality education for Odisha’s youth.
To support the “Skilled in Odisha” initiative, OMBADC has made significant investments in upgrading the infrastructure as well as providing state of the art equipment for the Government ITIs, Polytechnics and Engineering colleges in the mining districts of the state. Centre of Excellences have also been developed under various trades to make them youth aspirational and industrial friendly contributing to the overall development of skilled manpower. Other advanced initiatives that have been undertaken are setting up of AR/VR technology in mining, setting up of state-of-the-art laboratories and workshops for developing CoEs in home automation, advanced welding, drone-based mining survey, additive manufacturing etc. Thus, the overall aim of all these initiatives is to empower youth with the skills and knowledge for gainful employment.
