Bhubaneswar: Three months into Odisha’s free education scheme from KG to PG, Gyanodaya – Shiksha Ru Samruddhi, colleges are staring at a cash-flow crisis, with several institutions saying they have exhausted a sizeable chunk of their own funds to pay salaries and meet routine expenses while waiting for govt reimbursement.College heads and lecturers said the problem is particularly acute in unaided and govt-aided colleges, where guest faculty and a section of teaching and non-teaching staff are outside the govt payroll. With students no longer paying fees, colleges have lost an important source of revenue but continue to incur expenses on salaries, electricity, maintenance and academic activities.After Cabinet approved the Gyanodaya scheme in July, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced that govt would spend Rs 895.57 crore in the first year and Rs 5,467.55 crore over five years to implement it.However, college authorities said the challenge lies in the timing and quantum of fund releases. The higher education department recently released the first instalment of Rs 9.56 crore, or 10% of the sanctioned amount, directly to higher education institutions after Phase-I UG admissions for 2026-27 through Student Academic Management System (SAMS). The remaining amount is proposed to be released in instalments of 15%, 25%, 25% and 25% during the academic year.College authorities said the staggered release does not match their expenditure cycle. “Ten or 15% is too little to keep a college running. Salaries and utility bills cannot be deferred until the next instalment. We have already dipped into our college funds to meet essential expenses and there is very little left for day-to-day requirements,” said Golak Nayak, president of 662 Category Aided College Teachers’ Association.Mahendra Sahoo, another lecturer, said aided colleges face a peculiar financial burden as they have to meet expenses for employees who are not on the govt payroll. “The govt has made education free for students, but the cost of running the institution remains. If colleges have to spend first and wait for reimbursement, their own funds will gradually dry up. There has to be a predictable funding mechanism,” he said.The scheme extends free education to students from Classes IX to XII and those enrolled in regular UG and PG programmes in govt universities, govt colleges and govt-aided colleges. Education up to Class VIII was already free in the state. While colleges have welcomed the objective of the scheme, they have sought a review of the funding mechanism.“The problem is not free education. The problem is the gap between expenditure and reimbursement. A college has recurring expenses every month, whereas the govt is releasing funds in instalments. The release pattern should be aligned with actual expenditure and a proper timeline assigned to it,” said a college principal.Meanwhile, higher education department officials said the second instalment of Rs 14.34 crore for the first year will be released very soon to institutions, subject to prescribed verification and compliance with the norms under the scheme.
