On July 23, 2015, a communique was received by Dr Achyuta Samanta that the UN has granted special consultative status to the KISS. This is a matter of great pride not only for the KISS and Dr Samanta but for the entire tribal community of Odisha and the country.
Since the inception of the UN only six NGOs from India have received this recognition. The special consultative status bestows a host of privileges and amenities on an NGO, which is equal to those conferred to a member country by the UN. This honour was possible due to Dr Samanta’s sustained efforts.
One is reminded of the remark former Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan lyonchhem Jigmi Y Thinley, who said, “KISS is realising humanitarian dream of quality education for marginalised children. It has already achieved what Bhutan is still struggling to achieve. Dr Samanta is one of the greatest humanitarians in the world today.”
Mauritius President Rajeswar Purryog remarked, “My visit to KISS has reconfirmed my belief that education is not preparation for life, but it is life itself. Dr Samanta has successfully used education as a tool to fight poverty and inequality.”
On August 27, 2015, NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy has written an article in a newspaper that this Bhubaneswar based school demonstrates how tribal lives are being transformed without any Government aid.
He has stated, “I was fortunate enough to visit Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). While there is a KiiT International School, with some international students, the core is the regular KISS school and the associated KISS College for higher education. KISS was started in 1993, with 125 tribal students and some financial support from Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Today, there are 25,000 tribal students from 62 poor tribal communities (including 13 primitive tribal groups). Most, though not all, are from Odisha. For these students, who are poor and first-generation learners, education is free, from kindergarten to post-graduation. Since schooling is residential, boarding, lodging and healthcare are also free. Compared to many schools, private as well as public, the KISS track record is rather good – gender ratio, retention rates, pass percentages, integration of vocational education, sports and extra-curricular activities. More specifically, the school has 19,057 students, 9,044 girls and 10,013 boys. The college has 5,994 students, 3,204 girls and 2,790 boys. As news about KISS spread in the deprived and disadvantaged catchment area (Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh), there has been demand for enrolment in KISS.”
On December 14, 2015 US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal was on an official visit to KIIT and KISS. She after visiting KISS said, “I have been to many countries in my career and met many young children, but I have not seen a place, like Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.” She was greatly appreciative of the far sight of Dr Samanta.
On December 22, 2015, International Court of Justice Vice-President Dr Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf visited KIIT and KISS when at a special convocation he was awarded Dlitt. He said it is unbelievable that Mecca of education is functioning here in KIIT and KISS.
On 24th December, 2015, Prof Ved Prakash, Chairman of University Grant Commission, addressing a national seminar at the KIIT University, equalled the achievements of Dr Samanta with Madan Mohan Malaviya, founder of Banaras Hindu University, Rabindra Nath Tagore, founder of Viswabharati, Sayed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University, JRD Tata, founder of Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore. On the same occasion, Dr Simla, Director of Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training, opined that she was amazed to visit KIIT and KISS.
This campus and the facilities available here are comparable to the best of institutions anywhere in the world. Tears rolled down her eyes when she saw 25,000 tribal children from Odisha and other States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal studying under ideal conditions.
The KISS achieved two Guinness World Records on December 10, 2015 on the Human Rights Day - one, World’s largest Human Sentence for world peace, and the second, the longest Human Chain by tribal students (High-fives).
On December 27, 2015, at the alumni meet of the KISS, students all of them expressed their gratitude to founder of KISS Dr Samanta and said that had they not been brought here and educated, they would have been forcibly taken away by Maoists to join their cadre and would have led a miserable life of ultras. To them, Dr Samanta is a godman.
(Dr Mohanty is a former Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University of Culture, Mobile-9238300265)