Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda will lay the foundation stone of five Eklavya Model Residential Schools in three districts of Kolhan region.

On Saturday, the union minister will lay the foundation stone of an Eklavya Model Residential School at Khairbani in Rajnagar block of Seraikela Kharsawan district.

He will lay the foundation stone of two other Eklavya Model Residential Schools the same day at Sialjodi village of Hatgamharia block and at Haldia in Majhgaon block, both in West Singhbhum district.

On July 4, Munda will lay the foundation stone of a similar Eklavya residential school at Hatiapata village of Ghurabandha block in East Singhbhum and at Ghordhuan in Dhalbhumgarh block of East Singhbhum.

Eklavya Model Residential School EMRS is a Union government scheme for model residential schools for Indian tribals (ST, Scheduled Tribes) across India.

It is one of the flagship interventions of the Union ministry of tribal affairs and was introduced in the year 1997-98 to ensure tribal students get access to quality education in the remote tribal areas.

The government gives one time Rs 30 lakh grant for establishing the school, thereafter up to Rs 30 lakh per school annually. The additional cost is borne by state governments.

At the end of 2018, a total of 284 EMRSs have been sanctioned with a maximum of 32 approved in Madhya Pradesh.

There are around 226 such residential schools presently functional across the country.

Eklavya residential schools in Jharkhand will be developed as a Centre for Excellence on the lines of Navodaya Vidyalaya.

For sports, the residential schools will have the state-of-the-art facilities including art training, specialised training, boarding and lodging facilities, sports kits, sports equipment, competition performance, insurance, medical expenses etc. as per norms of Sports Authority of India.