The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved a proposal to open 28  Jawahar Navodya Vidyalyas (JNVs) in the unrepresented districts without any additional financial implication.

            As a result, 28  additional districts will be brought under JNV scheme giving opportunity to the rural talent to get quality education.

BACKGROUND:

            Jawahar Navodya Vidyalayas (JNVs) is a Central Sector Scheme which commenced in 1986-87 (except for two experimental schools established in 1985-86) pursuant to a provision in the new National Policy on Education (NPE) adopted in 1986.

            Pace-setting residential schools, Navodya Vidyalayas, intended to serve this purpose, have been established in most parts of the country on a given pattern, but with full scope for innovation and experimentation.  Their  broad aim will continue to be to serve the objective of excellence coupled with equity and social justice ( with reservation for rural areas, SCs and STs), to promote national integration by providing  opportunities to talented children from different parts of the country, to live and learn together, to develop their full potential, and, most importantly, to become catalysts of a nation-wide programme of school improvement.

            Except Tamil Nadu which has not agreed to the scheme due to its insistence on non-use of Hindi as a medium of  instruction for Social Science and Humanities in Class IX to XII as per policy adopted by NVS, all other States have accepted it for implementation.  Accordingly, JNVs have so far been sanctioned for 540 districts, and are functional in 507 districts. Number of districts in the country (outside Tamil Nadu) for which JNVs are yet to be sanctioned is 42.   There are 15 districts which are identified as special focus districts, being either located in Schedule V and VI areas or minority concentration districts or districts with Scheduled Caste female literacy less than 10%, or otherwise educationally backward.  It is proposed to open JNVs in 28 of the 42 districts during the remaining one year  (2006-07) at temporary sites to be made available by State Governments and the buildings for these schools will be constructed during the XI  Plan.

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YSR/DS/CS