Odisha Free Textbook Scheme 2026: Class 9 & 10 Students to Get Free Books
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Buying a full set of Class 9 books is one of those yearly costs that families in government schools quietly plan around. That cost is now set to go away for a large group of Odisha students.
On Tuesday, 13 October 2026, the Odisha Cabinet approved the Supply of Free Textbooks scheme for Class 9 and Class 10 students in government and government aided secondary schools. The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Lok Seva Bhawan, Bhubaneswar. The scheme runs for five years and is expected to reach about 28.7 lakh students.
Below is what has been confirmed, how this fits with what the state was already doing, and the questions the government has not answered yet.
Odisha Free Textbook Scheme: Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Scheme name | Supply of Free Textbooks |
| Approved by | Odisha Cabinet, 48th meeting |
| Date of approval | Tuesday, 13 October 2026 |
| Chaired by | Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi |
| Who benefits | Class 9 and Class 10 students of government and government aided secondary schools |
| Not covered by this scheme | SC and ST students (already receive free textbooks under existing provisions) |
| Scheme period | Five years, 2025-26 to 2029-30 |
| Estimated outlay | ₹284.07 crore |
| Tentative beneficiaries | About 28.7 lakh students |
| Nodal department | School and Mass Education Department |
| Announced by | Chief Secretary Anu Garg, at the post cabinet briefing |
What the Odisha Cabinet Approved
The cabinet cleared a proposal to give free textbooks to Class 9 and Class 10 students studying in government and government aided secondary schools, other than SC and ST students. The word “other than” matters, and we explain it in the next section.
The state has put a five year window on the scheme, from the 2025-26 session to the 2029-30 session, with a total estimated spend of ₹284.07 crore. The figure of 28.7 lakh beneficiaries is described as tentative, which means it is a planning estimate and not a final headcount.
This was one of 16 proposals from 11 departments cleared at the same meeting.
Who Gets Free Textbooks and Who Does Not
Covered:
- Students of Class 9 and Class 10
- Studying in government secondary schools
- Or in government aided secondary schools
- Who are not SC or ST students
Not mentioned in the announcement: private unaided schools. None of the reports we checked say they are included, so families in private schools should not assume they are.
Why SC and ST Students Are Not Part of This Scheme
This confuses a lot of readers, so it is worth a clear answer. SC and ST students in Class 9 and 10 are not being excluded from free books. They already get them.
Official audit records show that the ST and SC Development Department decided in December 2015 to give free textbooks to all ST and SC students of Classes 9 and 10 in government and government aided schools, starting from the 2016-17 session. The new scheme simply extends the same benefit to the remaining students in those classes.
So after this decision, the practical picture is that every eligible student in Class 9 and 10 of a government or aided school should be covered, through one scheme or the other.
What Is Changing for Families
Until now, free textbooks in Odisha followed a split pattern:
- Classes 1 to 8: free textbooks as an entitlement under the Odisha Right to Education rules.
- Classes 9 and 10: free only for SC and ST students.
That left a gap exactly at the stage where books get more expensive and where dropout risk rises. The Class 9 and 10 books are now being brought inside the free supply net for everyone else in government and aided schools.
Why the Government Says It Is Doing This
The cabinet note lists five objectives:
- Equal access to quality education
- Less financial burden on economically weaker families
- Better enrolment in government schools
- A lower dropout rate
- A smoother move from elementary to secondary education
Transition is the interesting one. Many students leave school around the end of Class 8 or during Class 9, so removing a recurring cost at that exact point is a targeted move, not just a general welfare gesture.
How the Books Will Be Printed and Delivered
The announcement gives a few specific rules on the supply chain:
- Procurement: paper, printing, transport and distribution of the books will go through a transparent, competitive and economical process, following the Odisha General Financial Rules (OGFR) and applicable procurement guidelines.
- Beneficiary data: the School and Mass Education Department must set up a mechanism to collect, verify and validate student data through field level verification.
- Timing: books are to be printed and supplied to all schools well before each academic session begins.
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Will the Books Reach on Time? What the Audit Found
Free textbooks are only useful if they arrive when the session starts. Here the track record is worth knowing, because it explains why the “well before the session” language matters.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reviewed school education in Odisha for the period 2018 to 2023. On textbooks, it reported:
- For Classes 1 to 8, books reached block points 90 to 198 days late in different years against the March deadline.
- For SC and ST students of Classes 9 and 10, books reached district points 56 to 312 days after the academic session began.
- In five of six sampled districts, books reached SC and ST secondary students 84 to 322 days late.
- Some students in sampled schools received only partial sets or no books at all.
The audit recommended fixed timelines for placing orders and supplying books, with penalties for delay. The department told auditors in October 2024 that steps were being taken to improve timely supply.
None of this says the new scheme will repeat those delays. It does show that the real test is delivery, not approval.
Do Parents or Students Need to Apply?
The cabinet announcement does not mention any application form, portal or registration. What it does say is that the department will build beneficiary data through field level verification, which points to schools being the main channel.
Our reading: you should not need to apply individually, and you should be wary of any website, agent or message that asks for money or personal documents to “register” for free textbooks. Once distribution starts, the school headmaster is the right person to ask. Detailed guidelines have not been published yet, so treat this as our reading of the announcement and not as an official instruction.
The ₹284.07 Crore Budget in Context
A quick bit of arithmetic, which is our own estimate and not an official figure. If the 28.7 lakh figure counts beneficiaries across all five years, the outlay works out to roughly ₹990 per student for a set of books. If the government counts it differently, the per student number would change. The state has not explained how the 28.7 lakh figure is calculated, so please read this only as a rough sense of scale.
How We Got Here: A Short Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Odisha RTE Rules make free textbooks a right for Classes 1 to 8 |
| December 2015 | ST and SC Development Department decides on free textbooks for ST and SC students of Class 9 and 10, from 2016-17 |
| August 2025 | School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond says free textbooks will be extended to students up to Class 10, as reported by PTI |
| 13 October 2026 | Cabinet formally approves the Supply of Free Textbooks scheme for Class 9 and 10 |
The Textbook Errors Row: Context You Should Know
This decision did not come in a vacuum. Reports by PTI note that it came while the state faces a controversy over errors in the newly introduced textbooks for Classes 1 to 8, with opposition parties demanding the resignation of the School and Mass Education Minister. The government had earlier ordered action against officials over those lapses.
That row concerns Class 1 to 8 books, not the Class 9 and 10 books covered by this scheme. Still, it is likely to put extra focus on how carefully the new supply is printed and checked.
Other Decisions at the Same Cabinet Meeting
The 48th cabinet meeting cleared several other proposals, including:
- A ₹500 crore urban storm water drainage programme to tackle waterlogging
- A ₹450 crore skill development scheme (see our explainer on the Dakshyata Vikas Yojana)
- A ₹1,360 crore programme for fertiliser and seed supply over four years
- An increase in Odisha Subordinate Fisheries Service posts from 445 to 774
- A fishing harbour at Astaranga in Puri district
What Is Still Unclear
To be fair to readers, a few things have not been answered publicly as of 14 October 2026:
- Current session: the scheme period starts from 2025-26, but the announcement does not say whether Class 9 and 10 students in the running 2026-27 session will get books now or from the next session.
- Medium and subjects: no detail yet on which medium or which subject books are included.
- Guidelines: the department’s operational guidelines for distribution have not been released.
- Official notification: we could not find the cabinet decision published on an official Odisha government page at the time of writing. The figures here come from the Chief Secretary’s briefing as reported by PTI, UNI and Odisha media outlets, and they match across sources.
We will update this page when the department issues guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which students will get free textbooks under the new Odisha scheme?
Class 9 and Class 10 students of government and government aided secondary schools in Odisha, other than SC and ST students, who already receive free books.
How much will the Odisha free textbook scheme cost?
The estimated outlay is ₹284.07 crore over five years, from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
How many students will benefit?
About 28.7 lakh students, according to the tentative estimate in the cabinet decision.
Are private school students included?
The announcement covers government and government aided schools only. Private unaided schools are not mentioned.
Do SC and ST students get free textbooks in Class 9 and 10?
Yes. They have been receiving free textbooks under an earlier decision of the ST and SC Development Department, effective from the 2016-17 session.
Do I need to fill any form to get the books?
No application process has been announced. Books are expected to be supplied through schools. Check with your school once distribution begins, and never pay anyone for “registration”.
Who announced the decision?
Chief Secretary Anu Garg briefed the media after the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
When will the books be distributed?
The government says books will be printed and supplied before each academic session. A specific distribution date has not been announced.
Which department will run the scheme?
The School and Mass Education Department, Government of Odisha.
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