Scheme Primer
Education
ngo-practitioners
Eklavya Model Residential Schools — Quality Education for Tribal Children, In Their Own Environment
Last verified: May 2026 · 7 min read · JaBaSu Knowledge Commons
At a Glance
| Parameter |
Detail |
| Full Name |
Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) |
| Launched |
1997-98 (pilot); substantially expanded 2018-19 onwards |
| Nodal Ministry |
Ministry of Tribal Affairs |
| Implementing Agency |
NESTS — National Education Society for Tribal Students |
| Status |
Active — 708 schools sanctioned nationally; 405 operational (July 2024) |
| Target |
728 EMRS by 2026 — one per block with 50%+ ST population and 20,000+ tribal residents |
| Student capacity |
480 students per school, Class VI to XII |
| Construction cost |
Rs. 37.80 crore (plain areas); Rs. 48 crore (hilly/LWE/NE areas) |
| Per student recurring |
Rs. 1,09,000/year (FY 2024-25); Rs. 1,47,062/year (from FY 2025-26) |
| IIT-JEE/NEET (2024) |
Approximately 600 EMRS students qualified |
| Construction budget (FY25) |
Rs. 6,399 crore — 150% increase over previous year |
| Official portal |
nests.tribal.gov.in |
| Odisha |
EMRS active in Malkangiri, Rayagada, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, and other tribal districts |
What Is It?
Eklavya Model Residential Schools are the Government of India's flagship tribal education institutions — fully residential, co-educational schools that provide free quality education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) children from Class VI to Class XII in remote and tribal-dominated areas. Named after Eklavya, the self-taught archer of the Mahabharata — the symbol of talent and determination that institutional barriers could not extinguish — EMRS are meant to provide tribal children with the same quality of education available at premier residential schools in urban India.
The scheme was piloted in 1997-98 under Article 275(1) of the Constitution (which provides grants to states for tribal welfare), expanded significantly from 2018-19 with the goal of one EMRS per block having 50%+ ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons. As of July 2024, 708 schools have been sanctioned nationwide, of which 405 are operational — a 60% operationalisation rate. The 2024-25 construction budget of Rs. 6,399 crore represents a 150% increase over the previous year, reflecting the government's commitment to completing the remaining 323 sanctioned but not yet operational schools.
The results are tangible: approximately 600 EMRS students qualified for IIT-JEE and NEET in 2024 — first-generation tribal students entering premier technical and medical institutions. EMRS has become, by scale and geographic spread, the largest residential tribal education programme in the world.
What EMRS Provides — Completely Free for Every Student
Every enrolled ST student receives all of the following at no cost:
Academic: Classes VI to XII following the CBSE curriculum. Class sizes designed for personalised attention. Modern classrooms and laboratories. Dedicated science, computer, and language labs.
Residential: Full boarding and lodging in hostel facilities within the school campus. Separate hostels for boys and girls with adequate supervision.
Uniforms and materials: Complete uniform sets, all textbooks and stationery for the academic year.
Food: Three nutritious meals per day, with a focus on locally appropriate and culturally familiar foods. Some schools have established Poshan Vatikas (nutrition gardens) to provide fresh vegetables from the school campus.
Healthcare: On-campus health facilities or regular health check-up visits by medical teams. Tie-ups with district hospitals for emergency care.
Sports and extracurricular: Sports infrastructure including fields and equipment. Cultural activities that specifically celebrate and preserve tribal arts, music, dance, and language. Some EMRS have specialised Centres of Excellence in Sports (CoE) — 15 CoEs are being built nationally for athletically talented tribal students.
Bridge and remediation: Many EMRS provide a bridge programme for incoming Class VI students who may be transitioning from vernacular medium or under-resourced primary schools — building foundational literacy, numeracy, and English before the regular curriculum begins.
Odisha's EMRS Network
Odisha has a significant EMRS presence in its tribal districts. Active EMRS schools operate in Malkangiri (one of which, EMRS Mathili, actively recruits for lateral entry), Rayagada, Koraput, Mayurbhanj (Mathili district), Keonjhar, and Sundargarh districts. The Odisha government's information brochure (available at odisha.gov.in) provides district-wise EMRS details.
Given Odisha's 13 PVTG communities and significant tribal block presence across the southern and northern tribal belts, the target of one EMRS per eligible block means Odisha is likely to see continued EMRS establishment in the blocks where schools are sanctioned but not yet operational.
The recurring grant revision — from Rs. 1,09,000 to Rs. 1,47,062 per student per year from FY 2025-26 — reflects NESTS's recognition that the previous allocation was inadequate for quality food, health, and student support services at current prices. This 35% increase should improve the quality of residential life and academic support at operational schools.
What NGOs Need to Know — the Practical Reality
1
The gap between "sanctioned" and "operational" is the defining challenge. Of 708 sanctioned EMRS nationally, only 405 are operational as of July 2024. The construction lag — caused by land identification delays, state-level procurement issues, and contractor performance — means tribal blocks that were promised a school in 2018 still don't have one in 2026. For NGOs in blocks with sanctioned-but-not-operational EMRS, formal inquiry to the state EMRS Society and District Collector about construction status and timeline is the first advocacy step.
2
Teacher vacancy is the quality crisis at operational schools. EMRS schools run on contractual teachers pending the national recruitment process — which NESTS has been in the process of completing through a centralised recruitment drive. Contractual teachers with high turnover undermine the continuity of learning that residential education is supposed to guarantee. NGOs working near EMRS can report persistent vacancies to the state EMRS Society and the District Level Committee (chaired by the District Collector).
3
The school dropout rate has risen five-fold in 4 years in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Despite EMRS's strong outcomes at the national level, a 2024 analysis documented rising dropout rates in tribal residential schools in states including Odisha. The reasons are context-specific: language mismatch, food unfamiliarity, distance from family, and cultural alienation in CBSE-medium schools. NGOs with community relationships can support student retention by facilitating family communication, cultural connection activities, and counselling for students struggling with the residential environment.
4
EMRS + PMJUGA is the new tribal education convergence. PMJUGA (the Rs. 79,156 crore tribal development programme approved September 2024) specifically includes EMRS expansion and improvement as one of its 25 interventions. As PMJUGA plans are finalised, NGOs can advocate for EMRS construction acceleration in eligible blocks not yet covered.
5
The lateral entry window is critically underutilised. Many tribal children complete their Class VI year at an inadequate government school and then face a secondary education gap. EMRS's lateral entry provisions for Classes VII-IX offer a correction pathway — but awareness among communities is near-zero. NGOs working with tribal families can specifically communicate the lateral entry opportunity every year when EMRS notifications are released.
How JaBaSu Helps NGOs Connect Their Communities
EMRS admission process facilitation
JaBaSu helps partner NGO communities calendar EMRSST notification dates, organise EMRSST preparation support for eligible children, facilitate application submission at the nearest EMRS or via the NESTS portal, and follow up on waiting list status.
Lateral entry identification
JaBaSu helps NGOs identify tribal children in Classes VII-IX who may be eligible for lateral entry into EMRS schools — a specific under-served cohort that no programme systematically tracks.
Construction status advocacy
For blocks in Odisha's tribal districts with sanctioned but non-operational EMRS, JaBaSu formally tracks construction status through NESTS, escalates delays to state EMRS Societies and District Collectors, and shares findings with partner NGOs.
Dropout prevention support
JaBaSu connects partner NGOs with EMRS school managements to provide supplementary counselling, cultural bridge programmes, and family communication support for enrolled students at risk of dropout.