Plan to expand Shaktishree to cover five academic years

Bhubaneswar: Shaktishree, the scheme announced by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi last year to provide a safe and inclusive environment on campus to girl students pursuing higher education, is being planned to be implemented over a five-year period.The state govt’s empowered finance committee has recently cleared the proposal to roll out the scheme from the 2025-26 academic session till 2029-30, with a key condition that its on-ground implementation is closely monitored through the introduction of ‘Shakti Apas’ (women mentors).The initiative goes beyond campus safety, placing equal emphasis on equipping girls with self-defence skills and supporting their mental health and emotional well-being. The CM earlier announced that the scheme would be implemented across 16 universities and 730 govt and govt-aided colleges in the state.In every educational institute chosen for implementation of the scheme, it entails formation of Shaktishree empowerment cells, mentorship by Shakti Apas, SAFE campaigns (Shaktishree Actions for Female Empowerment), CCTV surveillance, campus safety audits and implementation of code of conduct, released by the higher education department last week.Officials said as per the decision taken at the committee meeting, district-level committees will be formed in all districts for selection of Shakti Apas.Among others, these committees will comprise collector or ADM, SP/ASP or DCP and chief district medical officer. They will appoint five Shakti Apas per institute who will visit the colleges and universities to monitor compliance with all elements under the scheme.Besides, CCTV cameras will be installed in 410 colleges, amongst the chosen institutes, as a part of the scheme, with 82 institutes being covered each year.Heads of the institutes will consult the internal complaints committees and Shaktishree empowerment cells to identify the locations on campuses for CCTV installation.Campus safety audits will be conducted in the identified 746 institutes once a year where institutional safety for girls, complaints of sexual harassment and action taken will be taken into examination.The empowered finance committee has earmarked Rs 236 crore for the scheme over the five years and the proposals will soon be placed before the CM for approval.