Replying to an un-starred question of Smt. P. T. Usha, the Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Durgadas Uikey stated in a written reply in Rajya Sabha that 479 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are functional as of June, 2025.Department of Expenditure, Government of India, in Jan, 2023 has sanctioned a total of 38,480 teaching and non-teaching posts for Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) across the country. As per the sanction, 52 teaching and non-teaching posts have been allocated for each EMRS. The recruitment is to be undertaken in a phased manner, aligned with the progress of school construction and their operationalization. Accordingly, the first phase of recruitment was undertaken by the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, responsible for planning, constructing, establishing, endowing, and administering EMRSs. Under the first phase, direct recruitment for 10,391 posts was conducted through the EMRS Staff Selection Exam (ESSE)-2023. The selected candidates have been posted during the academic year 2024–25. So far, a total of 9,075 posting orders, including 7,050 for teaching positions, have been issued.

The requirement of posts is assessed by the respective State EMRS Societies based on actual vacancies. To ensure continuity in academic activities, many State Societies have engaged guest faculty on a temporary basis as an interim measure. Additionally, to enhance the professional competencies of the EMRS faculty. orientation programmes and capacity-building trainings are being conducted for teachers and principals on regular basis.

 The Ministry through NESTS is implementing several initiatives in collaboration with other government bodies to provide tribal students with access to digital and skill-based education while maintaining the traditional curriculum. These initiatives include:

Smart classrooms equipped with digital boards are being established in partnership with ERNET, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to enhance digital learning in tribal schools.

The Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) program is a comprehensive initiative aimed at enhancing access to computer science education for undeserved and underrepresented communities. Learning Links Foundation (LLF) has implemented the AFE program in 430 EMRSs to provide hands-on computer science education through interactive modules like the Hour of Code and Code-a-thon, students gain essential skills in programming and problem solving, which are crucial for success in today’s digital world.

Computer labs with internet access.

To enhance their preparedness and improve their prospects of securing admission to premier engineering and medical institutions across the country, Initiatives have been introduced to offer free, high-quality digital coaching for competitive exams such as IIT-JEE and NEET by providing online classes and academic support to tribal students. A dedicated DTH TV channel – EKLAVYA has been developed by CIET-NCERT, exclusively for EMRS students, which provides curriculum-based learning and competitive exam content for Classes 9^th to 12^th, ensuring wider accessibility to uninterrupted quality educational resources even in remote locations.

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RN

(Release ID: 2147323)