Informing the Central government’s push to provide quality education to tribal students in the tribal hinterlands of India, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Bishweswar Tudu said that 87 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are under construction in Odisha while many of them have already been completed.
In an interview with ANI, Tudu said, “Education is the biggest and most important matter. Tribals don't receive quality education anywhere including Odisha. They somehow complete education till class 10, but do not get any opportunity to pursue higher education or technical education.”
“So PM Modi decided that the tribal students should get their education under CBSE pattern, from class 6th to 12th. Then they can pursue engineering, medical and other competitive exams. They can then have a successful career, and tribals can go ahead,” he said.
“In Odisha, work on 87 EMRS has begun. The work is even complete in some places. I think it will be completed in 1-2 years. Odisha will have 114 such schools and each of these schools will have 500 students. There will be about 700 such schools across the country," Tudu added.
“After passing out from class 12, we will help them get through higher education and ultimately through National level competitive exams like UPSC,” he said.
What is Eklavya Residential Model School?
Eklavya Residential Model School is a flagship scheme of the Government of India for imparting quality education to the tribal students.
In 2019, 452 new Eklavya Residential Model Schools were sanctioned by the central government, one in every tribal block with 50 per cent or more ST population and 20,000.
The state governments are required to provide encumbrance-free land of about 15 acres for the construction of these schools.
In Odisha, a total of 114 schools are to be constructed, of which 106 have reportedly been sanctioned.
(With inputs from ANI)