<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;color:#222222"><span style="background: white; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; widows: 2; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; word-spacing: 0px;">In a bid to improve attendance in schools in Odisha, thestate government has decided to provide transportation cost to students whostay more than a kilometre away from their schools.</span><br style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px" />''<br style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px" />''<span style="background: white; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; widows: 2; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; word-spacing: 0px;">Officials said, only students with an attendance of more than30 per cent will get the transportation allowance. The decision was taken at areview meeting chaired by School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash.</span><br style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px" />''<br style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px" />''<span style="background: white; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; widows: 2; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; word-spacing: 0px;">He said the cash incentive will be given to parents for 10months in a year. Students having more than 75 per cent attendance will get 600rupees per month as travel expense, while students with 50 to 75 per centattendance will get  400 rupees per month.</span><br style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px" />''<br style="font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px" />''<span style="background: white; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; widows: 2; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; word-spacing: 0px;">Similarly, 300 will be given to students with attendancebetween 50 to 70 per cent. The state government has also decided to close down966 schools across the state since there are less than 10 students in each ofthese schools. The students of these schools will be relocated to other schools.</span></span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><o:p /></span></p><br />