Eklavya Model Residential Schools

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

In the context of the trend of establishing quality residential schools for the promotion of education in all areas and habitations in the country, the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for ST students take their place among the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalays, the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalays and the Kendriya Vidyalays.

• Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) are set up in the States/UTs with grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of India.
• States/UTs are free to apportion funds out of their Article 275 (1) Grants to construct and run additional EMRS over the number sanctioned by the ministry.
• EMRS started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas in order to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employment in various sectors.
• The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of the students.
• The Tribal Affairs Ministry in May , 2021, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to help Tribal schools such as Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and Ashram Schools have digital transformation. The MoU was signed digitally in an online event ‘Empowering Youth for Success’.
• National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), is an autonomous Society has been set up under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to establish, endow, maintain, control, and manage the schools and to do all acts and things necessary for or conducive to the promotion of such schools. The NESTS shall function through an Executive Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Tribal Affairs.

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED):

• It was established in August 1987 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 by the Government of India as a National level Cooperative body under the administrative control of the then Ministry of Welfare of India, with the basic mandate of bringing about socio-economic development of tribals of the country by institutionalizing the trade of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) & Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) collected/ cultivated by them. As a market developer and service provider, the objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of the tribal products on which the lives of tribals depends heavily as they spend most of their time and derive a major portion of their income. The philosophy behind this approach is to empower tribal people with knowledge, tools and pool of information so that they can undertake their operations in a more systematic and scientific manner.