Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10 -- Odisha government's decision to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi in colleges is expected to improve access to digital education. However, the initiative has also raised concerns among guardians and experts over its possible misuse and network management.

On Monday, the state cabinet approved the Odisha Education Net scheme as part of 13 proposals from 10 departments. The scheme will cover 601 government and government-aided colleges over three years, from 2026-27 to 2028-29, at an estimated cost of Rs 393.62 crore.

Under the scheme, each student will get up to 1 GB of free internet data per day on campus. Wi-Fi facilities have already been provided at 130 colleges in the first phase.

The facility is expected to mak...