Rourkela, Aug 10: With a vision of transforming rural education through Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a National Programme by the Government of India, NIT Rourkela conducted its Rural School Connect Programme at the Upper Primary (U.P) School in Dalposh village under Bisra Tehsil in Odisha's Sundargarh district on Saturday.

This Odia medium co-educational school is governed by the Government of Odisha and caters to students from Grades 1 to 8, also having a residential hostel for boys.

NIT Rourkela, serving as the regional coordinating centre for UBA, has adopted five villages: Jhirpani, Jamsera, Dalposh, Mitikundari, and Kansar (Munda Tola). Today’s initiative was part of this program, where a team from UBA NIT Rourkela including faculties of NIT Rourkela, staff and students visited the school for a donation and sensitization programme.

The event featured the donation of 9 television sets equipped with ‘Free to Air D2H Dish TV’ to the school, intended to provide access to broadcasting educational and infotainment channels. The donation aimed to enhance listening, communication, and speaking skills through activity-based learning facilitated by educational channels. The event included vibrant performances by school students, including a folk dance, a song and a Swachh Bharat awareness campaign dance. Team members of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-NIT Rourkela coordinated the whole programme.

During the inauguration, The Chief guest and Director of NIT Rourkela Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao announced the adoption of the school as a part of NIT Rourkela's broader commitment to share resources and promote educational and developmental growth in rural schools. Prof. Rao highlighted plans to involve NIT Rourkela students to support the school by volunteering to guide and provide their mentorship.

Principal of KV NITR, P. Neeraja, who graced the occasion as the guest of honour, emphasized the importance of utilizing the PM e-VIDYA initiative for digital and multi-modal education access. She also invited Dalposh students to visit KV NIT Rourkela and encouraged future collaborative events to boost educational growth.

Prof. Rohan Dhiman (Registrar, NITR) extended an invitation to both students and teachers of the school to explore NIT Rourkela’s laboratories and thanked the UBA-NITR team for their commitment to the betterment of the adopted village schools. He also offered to provide career counselling to the school students to help them explore their potential.

Prof. R.K. Patel from NIT Rourkela addressed the village’s water and transportation challenges, advocating for practical solutions. Joining the event, Smt. Bedana Oram, (Sarpanch, Jamsera Gram Panchayat,) and Mr. Dhruba Rout, (Headmaster of U.P. School, Dalposh) expressed their gratitude to UBA team and NIT Rourkela for their support and cooperation.

The event, with an audience of around 200 participants, concluded with a shared goal of collaborating between higher educational institutions and rural communities to address development challenges and accelerate sustainable growth.
Team of UBA NITR consisting of Prof. Braja Gopal Mishra (Chairperson), Prof. Ramakrishna Biswal (Nodal Officer), and esteemed members; Prof. Sujit Sen, Prof. Seshadev Pradhan, Prof. Kakoli K. Paul, Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas, Rajesh Beuria, Prem Kumar Xess and Banita Mahali attended and organised the programme.

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