Bhubaneswar: Education emerged as one of the highest components of household consumption in the state, the Odisha Economic Survey 2025-26 has revealed. The paper was tabled in the state assembly on Thursday.
Accordingly, Odisha significantly improved its spending in the sector, which was instrumental in enrolling students in education, whether at the school or higher education-level, and improving academic infrastructure.
The report pointed out that while healthcare accounted for the highest share of household spending at 67%, education came second at 9.3%. Household consumption (consumption and expenditure of households) in the education category was highest in districts such as Khurda, Sundargarh, Cuttack, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Balangir, Keonjhar, Bargarh and Puri.
According to the report, the state prioritised strengthening the school education system and increased its spending in this area from Rs 22,527 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 31,185 crore in 2025-26 (BE), representing a 38.4% increase in the past two years.
It managed to improve school infrastructure, with near saturation in access to drinking water, libraries, toilet facilities and electricity connections in govt schools. Computer facilities in govt schools increased by 29% in 2024-25 over 2023-24, while 84% of schools had internet facilities in 2024-25.
Similarly, at the secondary education level (classes 9 and 10), the gross enrolment ratio in the state reached 72.3% in 2024-25, which was 5.5 points more than the national average of 68.5%. The dropout rate at this level also decreased from 10.3% in 2023-24 to 9.8% in 2024-25 in the state.
Education of tribals and the SCs, however, have remained a concern amid small achievements in enrolment. The report pointed out that between 2023-24 and 2024-25, enrolment of SCs and STs in the foundational stage (pre-primary to Class 2) remained critically low for both groups, with GER at around 35% but their participation improved at the preparatory (classes 3 to 5) and middle (classes 6 to 8) stages, with GER at 100%. Although the GER dropped significantly at the secondary level in this period, the report stated that there was an upward trend at this level in the past year, particularly among ST students.
Besides, in 2024-25, over two lakh students enrolled in higher education colleges under the higher education department of whom nearly 70,000 were from ST and SC communities, accounting for 34.3% of total enrolment.
With Odisha targeting becoming a regional education hub by 2047, it plans to establish 2 ‘edu-cities’ at Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar by then, the report stated.
