Bhubaneswar, Aug. 22: The state government has decided to increase seats in Plus Two colleges in the rural areas to ensure better higher education for students, including the tribal ones.

To ensure that the students from rural and backward areas pursued higher studies, the state’s higher education minister Badri Narayan Patra said: “The government had decided to increase 15 per cent seats in Plus Two colleges in the rural areas, which included the tribal belt.”

Tribal students are being deprived of higher education as the state government has failed to open adequate number of Plus Two colleges at 118 tribal-dominated blocks.

Patra said the government had no proposal for opening government Plus Two colleges in the tribal sub-plan. He said there had been poor enrolment in the Plus Two colleges in the tribal areas. Four Plus Two colleges were opened in the tribal area last year. The response to higher studies seemed to be poor, said sources.

Congress member Prafulla Majhi said: “The state’s tribal and Dalit population stands at 39 per cent. The government professes to attach priority to tribal education, but it’s not opening colleges in the tribal areas,” he said.

BJP leader K.V. Singh Deo said the funds under the tribal sub-plan were diverted for construction of flyovers, while the government was reluctant to open colleges in the tribal belt.

Agitated Congress members rushed to the Well shouting slogans “We want tribal education”, as they were not satisfied with the government’s response in the matter.