The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda, interacted with the students of seven Eklavya Model Residential Schools situated in the various districts of Jharkhand via video conferencing mode on 22nd February 2022. 

During the lively interaction, the Minister stated that the Government has taken up the challenge of education of the tribal population in mission mode and we are working to catapult them to international levels. 

To this effect, the government has sanctioned new 452 Eklavya Model Residential Schools to fill the gap in the education of tribal children and a large number of these schools are proposed to be opened in remote areas and at the block level. These schools will provide quality education for all-around development of the tribal students, the Minister added. 

He further stated that the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone of 50 EMRSs on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas i.e 15th November 2021, out of which 20 are located in Jharkhand. Giving more details, Sh Arjun Munda said that during the last few years’ efforts have been made to step up the quality of education in these schools as a result of which we now see many toppers and winners emerging from EMRSs in different fields like academics, sports, cultural activities among others. 

The students are also being involved in social and nation-building activities like Poshan Abhiyaan, Swachchta Mission among others. Moral values and character-building should be the focus of education, the Minister said. 

The Minister said that a large number of scholarships are available to tribal children for taking up higher studies like post-matric scholarship, scholarship for higher education, national fellowship, scholarship for overseas education, and the endeavor is to give out as many scholarships to the ST students as possible. 

Encouraging the indomitable spirit of the persevering students, Shri Arjun Munda also expressed his delight while addressing the students.

Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Anil Kumar Jha, who was also present on the occasion apprised the students of the various coveted Scholarships of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs that have been implemented for the benefit of the Scheduled Tribe students who aspire to study further. He also applauded the students for their achievements in various fields. 

The event commenced with the EMRS Kujra (Lohardaga Dist.) students’ melodious rendition of the Saraswati Vandana. Thereafter, the head of each of the seven schools presented a synopsis of the performance of their school and the recent laurels achieved. 

The session also included a short ‘Question Hour’ wherein the students asked Shri Arjun Munda a few interesting questions.