New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has in-principle approved a total 114 Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) for the state, of which108 locations have been sanctioned so far.
This was informed by Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Durgadas Uikey in Rajya Sabha today.
In a written reply to a question by BJD MP Dr Sasmit Patra, the Union Minister said out of 114 EMRSs has been approved for Odisha, 81 are under the new scheme and 27 were sanctioned under the old scheme. A total of 108 locations have been sanctioned and formal sanction at 6 locations is pending for want of encumbrance/encroachment free land by the State Government, he said.
Out of these 108 EMRSs, the construction work at 48 locations has been completed, at 43 locations work is in progress and 17 locations work is at pre-construction stage and 47 schools have been made functional, he informed.
The Union Minister said the EMRS schools prioritize all-round development of students and therefore various activities such as adventure sports, cultural programs, sports competitions, excursions, and exchange programs between different EMRS schools are regularly organized. Further, all EMRSs are being equipped with Smart classes to facilitate digital learning.
The Central Sector Scheme of EMRS was started in the year 2018-19 to provide quality education at par with Navodaya Vidyalaya to the tribal children in their own environment.
Under the new scheme, the Centre has decided to establish 440 EMRSs, one EMRS in every block having more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons (as per census 2011).
At national-level, 288 EMRS schools were initially funded under grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution, which are being upgraded as per the new model. Accordingly, the Ministry has set the target to set up a total of 728 EMRSs benefiting around 3.5 lakh ST students across the country, he said.
As on date, 715 schools have been sanctioned, out of which 476 EMRSs have been reported to be functional across the country benefiting about 1,33,929 students, Uikey said.
National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is managing and implementing the scheme of EMRS.
The Tribal Affairs Ministry releases funds to NESTS and NESTS further releases funds to States/ UTs/ PSUs/ Construction Agencies/ State Societies as per their requirements for construction of EMRSs and recurring cost for running of these schools.
In Odisha, the Centre has released Rs 61.74 crore in 2020-21, which was increased to Rs 106.48 crore in 2021-22, Rs 281.64 crore during 2022-23. The allocation of funds has been further enhanced to Rs 489.34 crore during the last financial year.
Additionally in 2024, he said, NESTS has also completed central recruitment and posting of 9000 teaching and non teaching staff of all functional EMRSs (including those in Odisha) as per available vacancies.