Over 1,500 Govt Schools in Odisha Still Without Electricity, Minister Tells Assembly
Data shows big gaps in basic facilities despite years of improvements
Bhubaneswar: More than 1,500 government schools in Odisha continue to function without electricity, the state’s school and mass education minister Nityananda Gond informed the Assembly on Friday, raising concerns over the quality of the learning environment for thousands of students.
Responding to questions on school infrastructure, the minister said the gaps persist largely due to connectivity issues and delays in inter-departmental coordination. According to the latest data, 1,289 primary schools and 290 upper-primary schools are yet to be connected to the power grid.
Odisha has a total of 48,522 government schools, making the absence of electricity in a sizeable number of institutions a significant challenge despite improvements made in recent years.
Gond further revealed that 114 schools across the state do not have functional toilets—an issue directly linked to sanitation, health, and attendance, particularly for girls. The lack of basic amenities, he said, underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions.
The figures highlight the continuing infrastructure deficit in Odisha’s education sector and call for accelerated efforts to ensure that essential facilities such as electricity and sanitation become universal and reliable. These are not merely administrative benchmarks, the minister emphasised, but foundational requirements for a safe, inclusive, and conducive learning environment for children.