Bhubaneswar: The Directorate of Higher Secondary Education (DHSE), Odisha, on Tuesday hosted a state-level orientation programme for principals of 102 newly upgraded higher secondary schools and Additional District Education Officers (ADEOs) from 17 districts. The day-long event was held at the Krushi Bhawan Auditorium.
The programme was attended by senior officials from the Education department, including Subhashree Nanda, Additional Secretary, School & Mass Education; Mrunalkanti Dash, Chairman, Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE); Birendra Karakara, Director, Secondary Education; Niyati Patnaik, Director, Higher Secondary Education; Ramesh Chandra Sethi, Additional Director, Regional Directorate; and Sasmita Mali, Joint Director, DHSE.
Welcoming the participants, DHSE Director Niyati Patnaik outlined the goals of the orientation, while Director of Secondary Education Birendra Karakara encouraged new principals to draw lessons from the experiences of earlier upgraded institutions. CHSE Chairman Mrunalkanti Dash highlighted the need to strengthen classroom quality, and Additional Secretary Subhashree Nanda urged schools to focus on skill-based learning in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to ensure employability and self-reliance of students.
The technical sessions covered a wide range of themes, including e-Admission 2025–26 via SAMS, revised fee structures, career counselling, scholarship schemes, Samagra Shiksha implementation, school administration, and management practices. Later sessions also focused on self-defence training programmes for students and curriculum planning exercises.
The event was coordinated by Joint Director Sasmita Mali, with Deputy Director Madhusudan Mallik proposing the vote of thanks.