Smart classrooms, AI tools, e-libraries — how higher education in Odisha govt schools is levelling up The Class 9 student doesn’t miss her old school anymore, a feeling shared by many others like her whose parents decided to opt for government schools. Learning coding, doing science experiments, reading from the computer and attending smart classes is the new normal for students in government high schools covered under the Odisha government’s 5T High School Transformation Programme. Focusing on Teamwork, Transparency, Technology, Time, and Transformation, the programme  seeks to change the image of higher education in the eastern state. Started in 2020, it has completed three phases in its quest to modernise 8,679 high schools in the eastern state. The budget for this programme was increased 55 percent from 2018-2019 to 2023-24, according to the government data. A sum of Rs 1,268 crore was allocated for the 5T programme in the 2023-24 budget. Since 2021, the government has noticed a 1.5 percent increase in enrolment for Class 1 to 12.“Because it is at the cutting edge level, we have just started and we will have to transform all the levels. This has started with transforming the physical infrastructure in high schools,” said Aswathy S, Commissioner-Cum-Secretary of education, Odisha.