408 students from Eklavya schools for STs cleared NEET: MoS Durgadas Uikey
New Delhi, Aug 6
As many as 408 students from Eklavya Model Residential Schools have qualified for NEET for MBBS courses, and 41 students have qualified for the Joint Engineering Exam 2026 for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.
Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey, in reply to a question, said eight Centres of Excellence are operational to provide focused mentoring and high-quality coaching to meritorious EMRS students preparing for IIT-JEE and NEET.
The Engineering and NEET Admission Bridge Accelerated Learning Engagement (ENABLE) Programme, launched in 2025, provides structured online academic support and coaching for students aspiring to qualify for IIT-JEE and NEET.
He said that 508 EMRSs are operational in the country, and in the academic year 2025-26, the results in EMRSs are 93.62 per cent and 87.82 per cent in Class X and XII, respectively.
The MoS said 173 schools achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in Class X and 92 schools achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in Class XII.
Sharing information about staff strength in these schools, Uikey said 9,111 teaching and non-teaching staff have already been recruited through ESSE-2023, and an examination has been conducted through ESSE-2025 for another batch of 7,267 teaching and non-teaching staff for EMRSs across the country.
He said all new EMRSs, with an area of 15 acres and a student capacity of 480 from Classes VI to XII,, are well equipped with modern design. These include separate boys' and girls' hostels, integrated dining and kitchen facilities, quarters for teaching and non-teaching staff, classrooms with modern teaching aids, science and computer laboratories, libraries with diverse learning resources, playgrounds and sports equipment and facilities for extracurricular activities.
— IANS
Reader Comments
93.62% pass rate in Class X is impressive! But I wonder about the quality of education beyond just pass percentages. Are these students actually learning or just memorizing? The infrastructure details sound good on paper, but ground reality often differs. Still, any step towards tribal upliftment is welcome.
Great initiative! The 15-acre campus with separate hostels and modern labs sounds very well planned. But 508 schools for the entire tribal population of India is still quite less. We need many more such schools in remote areas where tribal children don't have to travel far for education. #EducationForAll
Recruitment of 9,111 staff through ESSE-2023 and another 7,267 through ESSE-2025 shows the government is serious about filling vacancies. But the real test will be the quality of teachers and their commitment to work in remote tribal areas. Hope the selection process is merit-based and transparent.
As someone who's worked in education policy, I think this is a step in the right direction. The ENABLE programme's online coaching model is innovative and cost-effective. But I'd like to see more focus on holistic development, not just exam preparation. Sports and extracurricular facilities mentioned are a good start though.
This is such a proud moment for the tribal community! 🎉 408 NEET qualifiers is no small feat. But the article mentions only 41 for JEE - that number needs to grow too. We need engineers and doctors from tribal communities, not just in government jobs but in the private sector as well. More exposure needed!
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