JAMSHEDPUR: Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram on Tuesday said the Centre will spend Rs 25,000 crore by 2022 for overall development of Scheduled Tribes (ST), including construction of 700 Eklavya Model Residential school (EMRS) in 462 districts where the population of the ST community at the block level is either more than 50% or at least 20,000.EMRS is a central scheme of model residential schools for tribals (Scheduled Tribes) across the country which was launched in 2000. Oram said the focus of the Union government is to bring the Eklavya model schools at par with other mainstream schools and promote the leadership qualities among tribal students.With 214 Eklavya units functional, the schools admit 320 students every year with 50% of the seats reserved for the girls. "Along with academic courses, promotion of talent pertaining to extracurricular activities is now central to policy of Eklavya schools," the minister told media persons.Oram, who was in the Steel City to participate in the two-day national-level EMRS music competition organized by the East Singhbhum district administration at Tata Auditorium, said the purpose was to bridge the competence gap between the tribal youths and others in all fields including higher studies and competitive examinations."The Union government has given priority to promotion of fine arts, music and sports among the tribal students. A national-level sports meet of Eklavya schools will be held in December," Oram said, adding, "With an average of 90% pass rate, the students of Eklavya schools have performed consistently in the last few years." "Our aim is to produce IAS and IPS officers, engineers, doctors and business manager from Eklavya schools," he said.The students are, however, lagging behind in confidence in the competitive exams, he said. "We have to inculcate confidence among them that they are the national achievers in any field whether it was sports or education and can improve their performances," he said.Appreciating the Jharkhand government's efforts in organising the inaugural edition of the national level EMRS music competition successfully, Oram assured that the event will be organized every year. Altogether, 212 participants from 12 states, including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telegana, Nagaland, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand took part in the competition.

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