Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya

In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, announced a National Policy on Education to modernise and expand higher education programs across India. In 1986, he founded the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System, a Central government-based education institution providing rural populations with free residential education from grades six to twelve. Then Union Minister of Human Resource Development P.V. Narasimha Rao played an instrumental role in establishing these Institutions all over India. As per the Policy of the Government, one JNV was to be established in each district of the country. To start with, two Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas were established during 1985–86, at Jhajjar (Haryana) and Amravati (Maharashtra). As of the 2022-23 academic session, JNVs had been sanctioned for 638 districts. In addition, ten JNVs have been sanctioned in districts having a large population of ST population, ten in districts having a large concentration of SC population and 3 special JNVs in Manipur and Ratlam, bringing the total number of sanctioned JNVs to 661. Out of these 649 JNVs are functional. ==Organisational structure==

Navodaya Vidyalayas are run by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Education (MoE) (formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) (1985–2020)), Department of School Education and Literacy, Govt. of India. The Chairman of the Samiti is the Minister of Education. The Samiti functions through the executive committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Education. The executive committee is responsible for the management of all affairs including allocation of funds to the Samiti and has the authority to exercise all powers of Samiti. It is assisted by two sub-committees, the Finance Committee and Academic Advisory Committee. == List of schools ==

Total 661 functional residential schools have been sanctioned in 638 districts of India with some special case institutes. These are administered by eight regional offices (see table below) with jurisdiction over different states and UTs. Detail the Cabinet approval for the 28 new JNVs, including the specific financial outlay (₹2,359.82 crore) and the period (2024–29). ==Admission==

Admission to Class VI of the JNVs requires qualification in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST), an entrance exam designed, developed and conducted by the CBSE. JNVST for Class VI is conducted annually throughout the country to select the 80 most meritorious students for each JNV. It is conducted in three phases per year, depending upon the session structure in the specific state or union territory. The test encompasses mental ability skills, mathematics, and regional language. The schools provide reservations as per NVS policy which encompasses reservation for ST, SC and OBCs, at least 75% selection of students from rural areas, maximum 25% from urban areas, fixed 33% for female students and 3% for disabled candidates. To compensate for attrition and optimally utilize seats, JNVST, developed by CBSE, is also conducted for admission to Class IX == Academics at JNVs ==

JNVs have classes from VI to XII standard. A particular JNV usually provides two streams among Science, Arts and Commerce for Class XI and XII. JNVs are known for their academic excellence, which can be attributed to their merit-based entrance test and unique climate provided for otherwise disadvantaged children, and which is further proven by their performance at board examinations. More than half of JNVs have been equipped with smart classes. These schools regularly organize science congresses and exhibitions to promote a research mindset. Three-language formula To facilitate migration every JNV student learns three languages in class VI to Class IX. These languages are grouped into A Level, B-I Level and B-II Level. The pattern followed in different categories of states is as shown in the table below. However, CBSE mandates for children to study two languages only. Therefore, students of each category of states appear for A Level and B-I level languages at CBSE examinations. In 201516 results, JNVs had a pass percentage of, 98.87% in Class X board exams and 96.73% in Class XII board exams. The pass percentage for JNVs has been higher than independent private schools, government schools and even Kendriya Vidyalayas. Quality of performance in the Board examinations has been exemplary with an average score of about 75% in Grade 12th and 78% in class 10th, with more than 89% of students scoring First Division scores, in the Board Examinations 2019. Science promotion activities Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti provides various experiences aimed at promoting science and motivating students to choose STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as their career. Various activities under this include: • Children Science Congress, • Participation in multiple academic contests/Challenges/Olympiads, • Visits to Research Institutes, • Tinkering Labs in schools, • Environmental activities, • Arranging International exposure for students, • Enriched ICT support, and • Entrepreneurial skill training. • Vigyan Jyoti Programme Read More The annual Science Congress is organized in collaboration with research institutes and institutes of national importance at the regional level. Exhibitions are conducted at school, cluster, regional, and national levels, covering subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. == References ==

The social milieu of JNVs is defined by the mingling of different sections of society from various regions of India since these schools follow the affirmative action policy and have a policy for migration from different linguistic regions. Teachers, chosen from across the country, live on the same campus and interact with students on a 24X7 basis leading to a familial feeling. Promotion of National Integration through Migration One of the important features of the JNV scheme is the Migration Programme wherein two linked JNVs of different linguistic categories exchange students between them. The aim of the exchange program is to "promote national integration and enrich social content". According to the scheme, a selected 30% of Class IX students are exchanged between two linked JNVs of different linguistic categories (generally between Hindi-speaking and non-Hindi-speaking states) for one year. During the migration period the three languages being taught to migrated students remain the same as in their parent JNV, but social and cultural exchanges are facilitated by their language learning in Class VI to IX. Initially migration was envisaged for students from Class IX to Class XII; it was reduced to two years (Class IX and Class X) in 1991–92. Finally in 1996-97 it was confined to only Class IX students. == Emulation of the Navodaya Vidyalaya system ==

Emulating the concept of residential schools for talented children, Odisha State plans to set up one Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya (OAV) () at each of 314 block headquarters. 160 schools have already been launched. These Adarsha Vidyalayas would be CBSE-affiliated fully residential schools, provide free education, and target talented students through an annual entrance examination. These would have Class VI through Class XII and each class would have 80 students. These schools would be administered through Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya Sangathan (), a society registered under the Society Registration Act of Odisha. == Concerns over student welfare ==

Incidents of suicide among students and the lack of apparatus to engage with such issues concerning health and discrimination plague the schools. This has affected the Dalit and Tribal students more and there is no method in place to avoid such incidents. There is no system in place to report the cases of inadequate care and abuse by staff, much of attention from the school administration in the form of mundane bureaucratic procedures comes after the occurrence of violation. == Major Recent Developments & Policy Shifts (2024-2025) ==

1. Expansion of the JNV Network (2024-2029) • Cabinet Approval: A decision (December 2024), by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the establishment of 28 new Navodaya Vidyalayas in districts previously uncovered by the scheme. • Budget: This expansion has an estimated total outlay of ₹2,359.82 crore spread over five years, from 2024-25 to 2028-29. • Areas focused: The new schools are strategically located in underserved areas, including multiple districts in states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Telangana. ==Alumni==

Alumni include: • Surendra Poonia, international award-winning sportsman and Limca book record holder • Hima Das, international athlete and gold medalist in Asian Games • Abhilash Shetty, Kannada film director and actor • C.K. Vineeth, India national football team member and Kerala Blasters player • V.T. Balram, MLA of Thrithala Constituency, Kerala 2011–2021 • Dhananjay Kannoujia, current MLA of Belthara Road Constituency, Uttar Pradesh since March 2017 • Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Indian Under-17 football team member and FC Goa player • Ummer Fayaz Parray, Indian Army officer who was abducted and killed in Kashmir • Lalit Prabhakar, Marathi actor • Ravi Bhatia, Indian television actor • Basharat Peer, Kashmiri American journalist • Goddeti Madavi, MP of Araku Constituency, AP • Sasikanth Manipatruni, scientist and inventor in the areas of electronics and computer engineering. • Hemang Joshi, an Indian politician and a member of the Lok Sabha from the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency. • Hemant Kher, actor, writer, and acting coach, best known for his role as Ashwin Mehta in the web series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story. • Hemang Joshi, member of the Lok Sabha from the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency • Sumit Kumar- AVP, Tata Capital • Priyanshu Bhargav, Economist and Physicist • Rahul Raje Ghadge, Successful Entrepreneur and Bullock cart racer • Siddhant Nalawade, Law Aspirant and Fashion tycoon in Rural Solapur ==Notes==