Eklavya Model Residential Schools

• 18 May 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has laid the foundation stone for the construction of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Nashik, Maharashtra.

• The proposed EMR School aims to make quality education accessible to tribal students in remote tribal hinterlands of Nashik.

What are EMRS?

• About:
  • EMRS is a scheme for making model residential schools for Indian tribals (ST- Scheduled Tribes) across India. It started in the year 1997-98.
  • The Eklavya Model Residential School in Shinde (Nashik) has been planned by the Ministry Tribal Affairs to give impetus to quality education in nearby tribal areas.
  • The EMR School follows the CBSE curriculum.
  • Eklavya Model Residential Schools are being developed to impart quality education to tribal students, with an emphasis on not only academic education but all-round development of tribal students.
  • At present, there are 384 functional schools spanned across the country established at par with Navodaya Vidyalaya with focus on special state-of-the-art facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.
• Coverage:
  • As per existing EMRS Guidelines of 2010, at least one EMRS is to be set up in each Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) / Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) having 50% ST population in the area.
  • As per the budget 2018-19, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons, will have an Eklavya Model Residential School by the year 2022.

What are the Objectives EMRS?

• Comprehensive physical, mental and socially relevant development of all students enrolled in each and every EMRS.
• Seek to empower students to be change agents, beginning in their school, in their homes, in their village and finally in a larger context.
• Focus differentially on the educational support to be made available to those in Standards XI and XII, and those in standards VI to X, so that their distinctive needs can be met.
• Support the annual running expenses in a manner that offers reasonable remuneration to the staff and upkeep of the facilities.
• Support the construction of infrastructure that provides education, physical, environmental and cultural needs of student life.

What are the Legal Provisions for STs?

• Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 against Untouchability
• Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
• Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
• Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006

What are the other Initiatives Related to Scheduled Tribes?

• TRIFED.
• Digital Transformation of Tribal Schools.
• Development of PVTGs.
• Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana.
• National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India: (2019)

1. PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory.
2. A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.
3. There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.
4. Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 2, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 1, 3 and 4

Ans: (c)

Exp:

• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups. The Commission stated that more developed and assertive tribal groups take a major chunk of the tribal development funds, because of which PVTGs need more funds directed for their development. In this
  context, in 1975, the GoI initiated to identify the most vulnerable tribal groups as a separate category called Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
• 75 tribal groups have been categorized by Ministry of Home Affairs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). PVTGs reside in 18 States and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Hence, statement 1 is correct and statement 3 is
  not correct.
• The criteria followed for determination of PVTGs are a pre-agriculture level of technology, a stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence level of the economy. Hence, statement 2 is correct. 
• Irular (Tamil Nadu) and Konda Reddi (Andhra Pradesh) tribes are included in the list of PVTGs. Hence, statement 4 is correct

Source: PIB