Keonjhar: More than 11,000 students were awarded DMF Scholarship for 2023 worth more than Rs 18 crore in Odisha’s Keonjhar.
The district mineral fund (DMF) scholarship was distributed among the students at a function organised at Keonjhar Auditorium. Total 11,856 students from various categories were awarded scholarship grants exceeding Rs 18 crore.
Addressing the gathering, School and Mass Education Minister Sudam Marndi the state government is committed to enhance the educational framework as a robust education system is the cornerstone of a progressive nation. The government’s transformative initiatives including 5T programme for school transformation and modern teaching methods have yielded significant success.
“The special DMF scholarship provided by the Keonjhar district administration and the District Mineral Fund (DMF) is a laudable endeavor. While the district is renowned globally for its iron ore mining, it will gain international recognition in the field of education through these efforts,” the minister said.
District Collector Ashish Thakare said, “The state government has given utmost importance to strengthening of the education system. We are following the same path in Keonjhar district. From school transformation to quality teaching, mid-day meals, and DMF Scholarship are milestones in this direction.”
On this occasion, the collector announced a special scholarship ‘DMF Ananya’ for the female students of the district, ‘DMF UTKARSHA’ for the students of the district enrolled in national-level educational institutes, a Higher Secondary Scholarship (HSS) for Plus II students and extension of mid-day meal for the Class IX and X students in government schools of the district.
A dedicated portal (scholarship.dmfkeonjhar.in) was launched and the scholarship amounts were transferred to the bank accounts of meritorious students. Eligible students can apply for the scholarship through this portal.
As many as 9,991 students of the district, who passed the Matriculation examination from government high schools, were awarded a total scholarship amount of Rs 14.47 crore with 13 block toppers receiving their certificates from the chief guest.
Similarly, 389 students who passed Matriculation from Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya (OAV) were given a scholarship amount of Rs 73.85 lakh with 11 students receiving their certificates on the occasion. Additionally, 1,472 students in the higher secondary category were granted scholarships amounting to Rs 3.33 crore.
During the event, 9 candidates, who cleared the Odisha Civil Service (OCS)-2021 examination from the district, were felicitated.
Among others, Sanjeev Barik, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations in Keonjhar; Bishnu Prasad Acharya, Chief Executive Officer of the District Mineral Foundation; Dhanraj HD, Divisional Forest Officer of Keonjhar; Nitin Kusalkar, Superintendent of Police; Keonjhar District Planning Committee Chairperson Jagannath Naik; Keonjhar Sadar MLA Mohan Charan Majhi spoke at the programme.
District Education Officer Gaurirani Naik, Sub-collectors of Keonjhar, Anandapur, and Champua were also present.
Students from various schools, parents, teachers, block education officers and officials from various departments of the district administration participated in the programme which was virtually broadcast to ensure wider participation.