The Government of India is opening Eklavya Model Residential Schools for Scheduled Tribes in ST dominated areas. It is being affiliated to CBSE. It is being run on the lines of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. Jharkhand Approval has been received to open 89 Eklavya schools in the state, but till now only seven Eklavya schools have been opened in the state. On the other hand, 74 and 8 schools are approved in neighboring states Chhattisgarh and West Bengal respectively. 73 schools have been opened in Chhattisgarh, while seven out of eight schools are operating in West Bengal. The situation in southern states is even better. All 28 schools in Andhra Pradesh have opened, 12 out of 12 schools in Karnataka are in working condition. Four were approved in Kerala and all four schools are operating. Studies are going on in 37 out of 37 schools in Maharashtra. 70 schools have been approved in Madhya Pradesh. 63 schools have opened here. In Rajasthan also, 30 out of 31 schools have opened. All schools have also opened in Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.
Eklavya Model Residential School was established in 1997-98.
The Government of India started Eklavya Model Residential School in 1997-98 to provide quality education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) children. A special plan was made for this in the year 2018-19. It was decided that there would be 480 students in the school from class 6th to 12th. Initially, grants were given to these schools under Article 275(1) of the Constitution. In the year 2018-19, the government decided that one Eklavya Model Residential School will be established in every block with 50 percent or more and 20 thousand ST population. This model residential school will be equivalent to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. In the year 2021-22, it was also decided that the cost of each such school will be increased from Rs 20 crore to Rs 37.8 crore. For hilly and difficult areas, this amount has been increased to Rs 48 crore. The Government of India believes that this will help in creating better infrastructure facilities for tribal students.
740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools will open in the country by 2026
The government has decided that by the year 2026, 740 schools with a capacity of 480 students per school will be opened in the country. In this way, 3.5 lakh students will get admission in Eklavya Adarsh Residential School. Besides, 211 old schools will be renovated, on which Rs 5 crore will be spent per school. Not only this, 15 Centers of Excellence (sports fields) will also be established at the rate of Rs 5 crore per school. Rs 28,919.72 crore has been approved for the year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
This is how the budget on tribal education increased
Budget figures show that the budget expenditure on education in the year 2013-14 was Rs 278.76 crore, which increased to Rs 2,000 crore in the year 2022-23. In 2013-14, 167 schools were approved, their number will increase to 694 in 2022-23. In the year 2013-14, 119 schools were running. The number of these schools will increase to 401 in the year 2022-23. Talking about the expenditure on students, in the year 2013-14, Rs 42 thousand were spent per student per year, which has now increased to Rs 1,09,000. The capital cost of Eklavya Adarsh Residential School was Rs 12 crore in plain areas and Rs 16 crore in hilly, difficult and north-eastern areas, which has now increased to Rs 37.80 crore in plain areas and Rs 48 crore in hilly, difficult and north-eastern areas. Of the Eklavya schools operating in the country, 69 of them got affiliation from the Central Council of Secondary Education (CBSE) in the year 2013-14, whereas at present 269 schools are affiliated with CBSE. The number of students registered in schools was 34,365 in 2013-14, which has now increased to 1,13,275.
There are so many schemes for tribal students
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Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme
This scheme is for Scheduled Tribe students studying in class ninth and tenth. The benefit of this scheme will be available to those students whose parents’ annual income is Rs 2.5 lakh or less. Children of people with income higher than this will not be able to get the benefit of this scheme.
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Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme
Students of all courses studying above class 10th are covered under this scheme. Scheduled Tribe students studying from 11th to PhD from a recognized institute after passing the matriculation examination will get the benefit of this scheme. The benefit of the scheme will be available only to those students whose parents’ annual income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh.
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National Scholarship Scheme (Top Category)
Undergraduate, postgraduate courses in excellent institutions are covered under the National Scholarship Scheme. ST students selected for prescribed courses in 265 premier institutes like IIT, AIIMS, IIM, NIT get the benefit of National Scholarship Scheme (Top Category). For this, the annual income of the parents of the selected student should be Rs 6 lakh or less. Children of people with annual income of more than Rs. 6 lakh do not get the benefit of this scheme.
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National Fellowship Scheme
Under the National Fellowship Scheme, courses like PhD, MPhil, Integrated MPhil+PhD are covered. Under this scheme, the Government of India gives 750 fellowships every year for higher studies in India. The benefit of this scheme is available on passing the postgraduate examination with at least 55 percent marks.
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National Overseas Scholarship Scheme
Under the National Foreign Scholarship Scheme, postgraduate, PhD and post-doctoral courses abroad are covered. National Foreign Scholarship is given every year to 20 new students for postgraduate, PhD and post-doctoral studies abroad. Its benefit is available to those students whose parents’ annual income is Rs 6 lakh or less.
5 scholarship schemes, more than 30 lakh students beneficiaries
More than 30 lakh students are getting the benefit of 5 scholarship schemes. For these schemes, a provision of Rs 2531.40 crore has been made for the year 2023-24 for 31 states/union territories.
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Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme
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Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme
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National Scholarship Scheme (Top Category) –
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National Scholarship Scheme (Top Category) –
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National Overseas Scholarship Scheme