Eklavya schools struggle to meet 5% PVTG sub-quota; dropouts on the rise

Context: About four years after the Centre introduced a sub-quota of 5% for the
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in admissions to Eklavya Model
Residential Schools for tribal students across the country, government data
show that they are struggling to meet this quota. Just 3.4% of students in
these schools now are from these communities. The Right to Information Act show
that of the 1,30,101 students enrolled into all 407 such functional schools as
of October, 4,480 belong to PVTG communities, which amounts to about 3.4% of
the total student population at these schools. The data showed that States that
had the most students — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Gujarat were
struggling to meet the 5% quota.

Key points

·       Overview: Government data
tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday showed that more and more PVTG students had
been dropping out of these schools for the past three years.

·       Eklavya
Model Residential Schools (EMRS): EMRS is a scheme for making
model residential schools for Indian tribals (ST- Scheduled Tribes) across
India. It started in the year 1997-98. Its nodal ministry is the Ministry of
Tribal Affairs. The scheme aims to build schools like Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas, with a focus on state-of-the-art facilities
for preserving local art and culture, as well as providing training in sports
and skill development. The EMRS scheme was revamped in FY 2018-19.

·       National
Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS): A National Education
Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) was set up and entrusted with the
management of the State Education Society for Tribal Students (SESTS), which
would run the EMRS on the ground. During the 2023 Budget session of Parliament,
the finance minister announced that the responsibility for recruiting staff in
EMRS would be transferred to the National Education Society for Tribal Students
(NESTS).

·       Issues
Related to Recruitment to EMRS: Requirement of Hindi
Competency - The recent centralization of recruitment introduced Hindi
competency as a mandatory requirement. This has resulted in many staff
recruited from Hindi-speaking states being posted to EMRS in southern states,
where the language, food, and culture are unfamiliar to them.

Impact on Tribal
Students - Most tribal students in Eklavya schools would benefit from teachers who
understand their local cultural contexts, as the communities have very specific
contexts under which learning can be made conducive.

·       Way
Forward: Localised Recruitment - The recruitment of teachers from local
communities should be prioritised to ensure they are familiar with the cultural
and linguistic contexts of the students. Both local and non-local teachers
should be recruited to ensure a diversity of teaching methods while respecting
local traditions.

Flexible
Language Requirements - The mandatory Hindi competency requirement should
be reevaluated to allow for flexibility in non-Hindi speaking regions. Language
support programs should be actively encouraged for teachers to learn the local
languages of the regions they are posted to.