MUMBAI: At a time when the Budget had the finance minister stressing on providing quality education to tribal children, people can take a cue from Professor Achyuta Samanta , who has been quietly going about the same job for decades now.Over the last quarter of a century, Samanta— founder and mentor of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology ( KIIT University ) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, a fully free, fully residential institute for 27,000 tribal children—has single-handedly ushered in an educational revolution of sorts in Odisha.The successes have been many. In August, his pet project, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, was granted deemed university status by the ministry of human resources development, making it the first exclusively tribal university in the world. His private professional institute, KIIT University, also has more than 27,000 students from 40 countries pursuing different streams including engineering, medicine and law and has a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore per annum. Samanta is also the general president of the Indian Science Congress Association 2017-18.The 51-year-old had started both institutes with just Rs 5,000 and from a two-room rented house. His next goal is to set up branches of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in 20 districts of Odisha within a couple of years and subsequently, in 20 states—and he’s been busy trying to rope in business houses to contribute to his cause. Each of these schools will provide lodging, food and education to 1,000 tribal children.Already the Emami Group is helping set up a branch of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Balasore, Motilal Oswal Group in Balangir and the Adani Group in Mayurbhanj. National Aluminium Company has contributed towards a school while another two business groups have made financial commitments.A Marwari business house is setting up a school in Puri for poor Brahmin children. In October, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Samanta and Kolkata-based NGO Help Us Help Them to set up a 1,000-student branch in West Bengal.“I want to keep going for as long as I can,” says Samanta. “My only goal is to eradicate poverty and help as many children as possible.” The expense of running the free institute is hundreds of crores a year and Samanta, so far, has a successful model in place to meet that. About 90% of the resources towards running Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences comes from KIIT stakeholders, KIIT staff, guardians and businesses that work with them. Another 10% comes from donations.Samanta claims the current valuation of the institutions is at over Rs 10,000 crore. But, he has kept nothing in his name. He is a bachelor and still lives in a rented house.His own roots are humble. His father, a petty worker, died in a train accident when he was four, leaving his mother saddled with debts and seven children to bring up in Kalarabanka, a remote village in Cuttack. Growing up under these trying circumstances, Samanta went on to complete his graduation and postgraduation degree in chemistry, engaging in private tuitions and mentoring for funding his education and helping his siblings.He strongly believes that his cause is not only about providing opportunities to the deprived, but also in enabling the transformation of these tribal children. Youngsters are even being encouraged to set up their own enterprises.“Over 10,000 of these tribal children have passed out and are currently working across several corporates as well as in various services, including the Odisha Civil services, police services, forest services and medical services. Many of them come from areas where extremism is rampant, and would have likely ended up taking up arms themselves, had they not received a way out,” he says. “I am happy that we have been able to give them a better life.”