Prof. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT

Kalinga to Open Campuses for Poor Students in Telangana and Andhra

Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), the largest residential institute for tribals in the world, will open its campuses in the Telugu States soon. In collaboration with the state governments, the KISS is aiming at providing free education to children belonging to the under-privileged sections of society in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States.

Speaking at a press meet here on Sunday, Dr Achyuta Samanta, founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and the KISS said, “Soon, I will meet the Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana to seek support from the governments for our new campuses in both the States.”

Based in Bhubaneswar, the KISS has only one campus outside Odisha. After successfully opening its second campus in New Delhi, KISS is in the process of spreading its wings across the country to promote its education model. However, there are no plans to expand the KIIT.

“The KISS was started with an intention to provide free education to the poorest of the poor,” said Dr  Acyuta Samanta. Currently, the institute provides free education to 25,000 tribal students in Odisha. The institute is also providing free accommodation, food and books to these students on the campus. KISS has already earned reputation across the globe for its services in the education field, he said.

Samanta is planning to open similar campuses across the country and in all districts of Odisha. Impressed by the functioning of the institute, some of the states like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have already invited Samanta to expand the services of KISS to their states. However, he decided to start with the Telugu States, where he plans to admit 1,000 students in first batch from class I to XII.

“We will invest `15 crore towards providing infrastructure and are expecting government support for rest of the funds,” he said. If all permits are given, the institute will start functioning within six months, he assured.

Talking about the reason for setting up KISS, Achyuta

Samanta, said: “Still thousands of students don’t have access to basic education. Our intention is to educate the children belonging to the backward sections of society and achieve the United Nation’s goal of development through education.”

Human Chain on World Human Rights Day

To mark the International Human Rights Day on December 10, the KISS is planning to form the world’s longest human chain with its 25,000 students in Bhubaneshwar. With 32 kilometres of length, it would enter the Guinness Book record, said Dr Achyuta Samanta, founder of KISS. It will also be the longest human chain formed by the tribal children, he added.

KISS-Bhubaneswar in the Itinerary of IAS Probationers’ Bharat Darshan

 Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) has been included in the itinerary of winter study tour-cum-Bharat Darshan of Lal Bahadur Sashtri National Academy of Administration’s (LBSNAA) annual training programme for IAS probationers. It is an important component of the Phase-1 training programme for IAS probationers.

KISS has been included from the current year. Henceforth, IAS probationers will come on a visit to KISS every year to get first-hand knowledge on various activities of the institute. During Bharat Darshan, small groups of IAS probationers, as a part of their training in LBSNAA, involve themselves in various organizations and establishments of central and state government as well as civil society organizations (NGO). They also get a chance to visit rural areas to receive a systematic exposure to the work being done by the civil society organizations.

A group of IAS probationers will come on a three-day visit to KISS in the current year to learn how this largest free residential institution in the world for tribals functions in a systematic manner. They will also get a chance to receive first-hand knowledge about KISS, which s taking care of more than 25000 tribal children in one campus. One nodal officer has been selected to coordinate this programme.

It may be mentioned that, in 2014, Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS was invited by Lal Bahadur Sashtri National Academy of Administration to deliver lecture to IAS probationers on poverty eradication, rural development and UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The authority of academy, inspired by Dr. Samanta’s work, decided to include KISS in its annual training programme.