Bhubaneswar: The first capacity building workshop for EMRS teachers and Principals on nutrition and mental wellbeing of tribal students kicked off here on 3 January.
The 4 days’ training will cover the important topics of nutrition, mental health and general wellbeing of tribal school children and will enable the principals and teachers to learn about the pertinent physical and mental health topics in context of tribal ecosystem and shall help them in replicating the outcomes in their respective tribal schools.
In the first batch, 54 participants have been nominated from 27 different EMRS across Odisha.
National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous organization has been set up under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to establish, endow, maintain, control and manage the Eklavya Model Residential Schools and to do all acts and things necessary for the promotion of such schools.
Eklavya Model Residential Schools provide free residential education to ST students from Class VI to XII with a total enrolment of 480 in each school.
The inaugural function was graced by Renuka Singh Saruta, Union Minister of State Tribal Affairs. Other dignitaries included Deputy Commissioner NESTS Indira Mudgal and Director- Training, PHFI Dr. Pushkar Kumar.
Special Secretary, ST&SC Development Department Biswaranjan Sasmal, Director (ST) Srikanta Tarai, Director, SCSTRTI Indramani Tripathy, Asst. Secretary, OMTES Dr. Geetansu Mohan Dash were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Renuka Singh Saruta stressed that the principals and teachers in EMRS who interact with students on daily basis need to be motivated and trained in various aspects of health wellbeing, so that they can impart the best practices and can collectively make our tribal youth healthy and wise.
NESTS believes that a training workshop like this shall go a long way in addressing the needs of tribal students and reach out to all EMRSs in India and impart this training to the respective principals and teachers for the betterment of the students.
It will build public health institutional capacity in India through an interdisciplinary and health system connecting education and training.
Notably, NESTS , and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) have come together to build the capacity of the Principals and Teachers of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) through a face-to- face workshop.
