5T Impact: Odisha First In the Country To Receive ISO Certification For Tribal Hostels

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has become the first state in India to get ISO certification for its tribal hostels. Forty four tribal hostels from Keonjhar and Sambalpur districts received the prestigious ISO 9001: 2015 certification by improving their overall infrastructure and standards under Mission Suvidya. It is an example of the transformation targets set under the 5T framework that intends to bring in positive changes in governance by bringing about big, transformational, and institutional-level changes.

In the first phase, all hostels of Keonjhar and Sambalpur were taken up for quality assessment. During the assessment, 60 hostels of Kendujhar and 12 hostels of Sambalpur were selected for intensive intervention of gap filling. The district administrations of Keonjhar and Sambalpur worked with the audit team to comply with the certification conditions. The audit team for certification was able to visit 44 hostels before lockdown and all have received certification. The remaining hostels will be assessed after lockdown.

Launched in December 2019, Mission Suvidya intends to improve the quality of basic services in the SC and ST hostels. The main aim of the mission is quality improvement in basic facilities like safe building, functional toilets, safe drinking water, proper kitchen and dining, safety, security, health, hygiene and food provisions for students.