Parliament Question: Upskilling of EMRS

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 713 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24/07/2025 UPSKILLING OF EMRS

713.SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:

Will the Minister of Tribal Affairs be pleased to state:

(a) the total number of Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) currently operational, the number of such schools established during the last one year and the number of schools under-construction in the country, State-wise;

(b) whether the Government is considering the inclusion of new-age skills and technology-based learning modules in the curriculum of EMRS and if so, the details thereof;

(c) the major challenges faced by the Government in the operation and management of these schools and the steps being taken to overcome them;

(d) whether the recruitment of teachers takes into account the geographical and socio-cultural context to ensure empathy towards local tribal communities and effective communication with students and if so, the details thereof along with the measures adopted in this regard; and

(e) the details of the current and future expansion plans for EMRS including the number of proposed schools and the targeted States or districts? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a) The state-wise status of Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) currently operational, the number of such schools established during the last one year and the number of schools under-construction in the country is at Annexure-I.

(b) The Ministry is implementing several initiatives in collaboration with other government bodies to provide tribal students with access to digital and skill-based education. These initiatives include:

i. Directions have been issued to schools to introduce skill-based subjects as per CBSE guidelines, including Information Technology, Agriculture, Marketing and Sales, Beauty and Wellness, Data Science etc.

ii. Initiatives have been introduced to offer free, high-quality digital coaching for competitive exams such as IIT-JEE and NEET, providing online classes and academic support to tribal students to enhance their preparedness and improve their prospects of securing admission to premier engineering and medical institutions across the country.

iii. Provision of Smart classrooms equipped with digital boards in partnership with ERNET, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). iv. 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 providehands-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.

v. Set-up of 400 Skill Labs in 200 EMRSs in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) to provide hands-on vocational training and industry-relevant skills to students.

vi. A dedicated DTH TV channel – EKLAVYA (Channel No. 32), has been developed by CIET- NCERT, exclusively for EMRS students, which provides curriculum-based learning and competitive exam content for Classes 9th to 12th, ensuring uninterrupted access to quality educational resources even in remote locations.

(c) Till the year 2018-19, EMRSs were managed by state governments under the scheme of Grants-in- Aid through Article 275(1) of the Constitution.Thereafter, the scheme was revamped in 2018. The revamped scheme transformed EMRSs into a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded and managed by the central government for streamlined governance and uniformity. The Government has undertaken several steps for effective implementation of EMRS Scheme, which includes the following:-

(i) Collaboration with State Tribal Welfare Departments for resolving issues related to land allocation, infrastructure, and recruitment.

(ii) Regular review meetings with construction agencies and State EMRS Societies to address bottlenecks in construction and accelerate construction of EMRS buildings and related facilities.

(iii) Central Recruitment of Staff is conducted to fill vacancies for teaching and non-teaching staff, ensuring adequate personnel to run the schools effectively.

(iv) Regular training programs and workshops for teachers and administrative staff to enhance their capabilities.

(v) Adequate financial allocations and timely disbursement of funds to address resource-related delays.

(vi) Establishment of a system of periodic reviews and inspections to address challenges and ensure smooth functioning.

(vii) Introduction of CBSE curriculum, digital tools, and regular training for improving academic quality and uniformity in teaching standards.

(d) For the recruitment of teachers, Priority is given for posting against the available vacancies in the

particular state as follows :-

(i) a) ST Female candidates are given home state (excluding their home district) b) ST Male candidates are considered next c) All Females are considered next(ii) Arrangement is made to impart local language competency through language teachers available at schools/training. Recruited Candidates are also required to pass the regional language competency requirement of the State during the probation period. This will ensure better communication with students.

(iii) Regional language teachers are also recruited.

(e) The central government has approved 728 EMRSs all across the country. As on date 722 schools are sanctioned and 479 schools are functioning. At present, no expansion plan for EMRS is under consideration.

*****Annexure I Annexure I as referred in part (a) of the reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred question No. 713 raised by Shri Tejasvi Surya regarding “Upskilling of EMRS”.

State wise details of EMRSs S.No. State No. of EMRSs EMRSs have been made EMRS under functional as on functional in 2024-25 construction as on

15.07.2025 15.07.2025 1 Andhra Pradesh 28 - 7 2 Arunachal Pradesh 5 - 3 3 Assam 1 - 6 4 Bihar 2 2 1 5 Chhattisgarh 75 1 21 6 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1 - and Daman & Diu 1 7 Gujarat 38 4 11 8 Himachal Pradesh 4 - 1 9 Jammu & Kashmir 6 - 3 10 Jharkhand 51 44 34 11 Karnataka 12 - 0 12 Kerala 4 - 1 13 Ladakh - - 0 14 Madhya Pradesh 63 - 18 15 Maharashtra 37 - 15 16 Manipur 5 - 12 17 Meghalaya - - 13 18 Mizoram 11 5 2 19 Nagaland 3 - 19 20 Odisha 47 15 50 21 Rajasthan 30 - 1 22 Sikkim 4 - 0 23 Tamil Nadu 8 - 1 24 Telangana 23 - 3 25 Tripura 6 - 10 26 Uttar Pradesh 3 1 0 27 Uttarakhand 4 - 2 28 West Bengal 8 1 0 Grand Total 479 73 235 *****