new DelhiTribal students enrolled in the central government’s Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) suffered “irreversibly” during the COVID-19 pandemic as they were not provided timely online learning resources, according to a release on Monday. The parliamentary committee report said.
Launched in 1997-98, EMRS aims to provide quality education For Scheduled Tribe (ST) children in remote areas of the country.
The “Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment” in its report said, “The Committee is surprised to note that the Smart Classes and Atal Tinkering Labs (computer laboratories where students learn by doing) and procurement of mobile tablets and educational kits for students have been delayed so much that the objective of providing online education to EMRS schools during the Covid-19 pandemic could not be fulfilled.
It added: “The Committee feels that this delay has caused irreparable suffering to the students as they require these facilities well in time to continue their studies in distance education.”
The ‘Action Taken by the Government’ report of the Committee on Review of the functioning of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs also claimed that “the Committee is unable to understand the reasons for the persistent delay in having these facilities in the schools”. The Committee feels that the Ministry (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) should realize that the students cannot be denied the right to education because of the non-serious approach of the persons responsible for executing the work.”
It also said that the “casual approach” of the ministry needed to be rectified.
The report states, “While expressing its concern for the educational empowerment of tribal students, the committee is of the view that any delay in providing these facilities in all EMRSs will deprive the students of the latest technology in education which It has become very necessary in the present scenario. ,
While the government did not respond to the issues of learning loss, it clarified that Atal Tinkering Labs have now been set up in 18 schools across eight states. ThePrint has also reached out to the Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, for a response. This copy will be updated after receiving the response.
The parliamentary committee report also pointed to the failure of the ministry to set up multiple EMRSs, as claimed by the report which was targeted by 2022.
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‘2022 target not close to being met’
As per reports, the ministry has failed to fix the number of EMRS by 2022, and the deadline has now been extended to 2025.
“The original target, which aimed at 452 new EMRSs including 12 Eklavya Model Day Boarding School (where the density of ST population is high) in the remaining 462 sub-districts to be set up by the year 2022, is no where near completion and the target year is now revised as 2025, read the report.
The government’s response included in the report said: “The ministry has not set a target of establishing all 452 schools by 2022.”
“In the cabinet note 2022, funds were provided for setting up 452 new schools and a timeline was set for construction in a phased manner. Accordingly, 396 out of 452 EMRS have been approved till date,” read the government’s reply.
It added: “Some states have expressed their inability to provide land in the specified blocks due to forest, hilly terrain or non-availability of suitable land. In view of this, the Ministry (of Tribal Affairs) has asked the States to identify alternative land in neighboring blocks/districts which have majority tribal population.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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