Indian Tribal News Service
Jammu
Focusing on the education of tribal students, the Government on Friday approved the establishment of 20 new hostels, model residential schools besides starting a special scholarship scheme for them.
The proposals, on the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, were finalised in the UT Level committee meeting held in Srinagar.
“The Tribal Affairs Department approved the establishment of 20 new hostels with an intake capacity of 3000 students to be started in the current financial year for which state land will be provided by respective district administration. The step is aimed at providing quality residential facilities to tribal students enrolled in colleges and other institutes of higher secondary education. The Government intends to establish 50 new hostels over next two years for tribal students,” officials said.
Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, chaired the meeting which was attended by Special Secretary, Mohammad Harun, Director Tribal Affairs, Mushir Ahmed Mirza, Secretary, Advisory Board, Mukhtar Ahmed, Jt Director Planning Shama un Ahmed, Deputy Director Dr Abdul Khabir, Nodal Officers, Arshad Hussain and Mukhtar Ahmed among others.
“The report of the committee constituted for devising special scholarship scheme for students enrolled in seasonal centers was also reviewed. The new scheme offer incremental scholarship upto Rs 2400 replacing the existing slab of Rs 450 for boys and Rs 675 for girl students. The new scheme will benefit more than 34000 students in 1200 seasonal educational centres and will promote education among tribal students. Additional support related to uniform, schools bags, sports material and teaching material was also discussed,” the officials pointed out.
As many as 10 new Eklavya Model Residential Schools have also been recommended while six EMRS are being made operational this month which include one each in Anantnag, Kulgam, Bandipora, Poonch and two in Rajouri.
The District EMRS Committee, Anantnag has operationalised the boarding school while other districts are at final stage. Districts have also been asked to provide land for establishment of new EMRS.
Dr Choudhary asked the officers for effective coordination with district administration and sectoral departments to ensure timely start of new projects and implementation of ongoing educational projects including smart schools in a time-bound manner. He also called for active involvement of PRIs at local level for inclusive planning and ensuring convergence.
The meeting deliberated upon various educational support initiatives to promote education at primary level in tribal areas and explains the facilities base to ensure best opportunities to tribal students.
