NEW DELHI, 2 Apr: Around one-third of special schools approved to provide quality education to the tribal students are non-functional due to incomplete building construction caused by land unavailability, encroachment, legal disputes and lack of permission to use forest land, the government told Parliament on Wednesday.
The government has set a target to build 728 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) to offer quality education to the tribal children from Class VI to XII in remote areas, helping them compete on an equal footing with others.
Of these, 721 have been approved out of which 477 are functional and 245 remain non-functional, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey said in response to a question from Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Uikey said the main reason for the delay in making these schools operational is the non-completion of buildings, as states have not yet provided suitable land free from encumbrances.
He added that work has stopped or slowed down due to encroachment and local disturbances.
The other reasons include a “considerable delay” in getting permission to use forest land, legal disputes over identified land and the non-availability of approach road.
The minister said difficult terrain with steep slopes in some areas makes the land unsuitable for school construction.
In the northeast, land is often given with conditional gift deeds for construction, he added.
Uikey further said each EMRS can accommodate a maximum of 480 students, with 31 sanctioned teacher posts, i.e. an average pupil-teacher ratio of 15.5:1.
A report tabled last month in the Lok Sabha by the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment highlighted delays in using funds allocated under the EMRS scheme.
The panel found that out of Rs. 5,943 crore budgeted in 2023-24 and Rs. 6,399 crore in 2024-25, only Rs. 2,471.81 crore and Rs. 4,748.92 crore (as of February 17, 2025) had been utilized.
For 2025-26, Rs. 7,088.60 crore has been allocated to the EMRS scheme which is 47 per cent of the ministry’s total budget. (PTI)