Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government on Wednesday decided to provide Rs 500 crores in the coming supplementary budget for widening of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme in the state.

This was decided after a review meeting held here in the state secretariat under the chairmanship of chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The meeting reviewed the functioning of the school and mass education department, cases of dropouts and measures to be taken to prevent the trend as to the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha programme.

It was found that the at least 40,000 teacher posts are lying vacant in various primary and high schools. The chief minister asked the department officials to fill up the vacant posts on war footing.

The long standing demand for establishment at least one high school in each gram panchayat was discussed in the meeting. It was resolved that 1,119 gram panchayats - which do not have high schools - will soon get new high schools. Middle english schools in all these gram panchayats will be upgraded as high schools, the meeting decided. Mr Patnaik also stressed the need for increasing the literacy rate in the state.