Eklavya Model Residential Schools (E.M.R.S.), Tawang is managed by the Art of Living, Arunachal Pradesh, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the state government. The Central school is constituted under Article 275(1) of the Indian Constitution, under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Located in the north western corner of Arunachal Pradesh in Tawang district, it shares international boundaries with Bhutan and China and is more than 600 km from Itanagar. The state government has shown interest and faith in handing over this institution to the Art of Living, Arunachal Pradesh. The local MLA Jambey Tashi, chief secretary Ramesh Negi and Srivastav have extended their support to build the school. Anil Behl, Art of Living’s senior faculty, has taken the responsibility of spreading Gurudev’s message, ‘Deepen the roots and broaden the vision’.
The institutions came up with the vision to improve the quality of education for tribal children who came from families that fell below the poverty line. The school is affiliated to CBSE, and imparts education through English medium. Since it is located above 8,000 feet, the children face a lot of hardships to attend school during winter. According to Behl, this is the first government school with digital blackboards and computer labs. “This is the first government school to go digital in Arunachal Pradesh.”
The school was started in September 2014 with 60 students divided into two sections. The second batch will commence in March, but the rules have changed. Students should have studied in a government school, should have obtained good marks in 5th standard and should belong to the tribal community. Student selection is done by the government.
The students take part in sat sang and yoga in the morning, and clean up the campus. They are encouraged to pursue extracurricular activities like craft, music, dance and so on. They also play indoor games like carom and chess. Within four months, the students shown marked improvement intellectually, physically and culturally.
Cleanliness and sanitation are the responsibilities of the students. They have a social outreach programme in which they reach out to the society and highlight issues and problems like deforestation or avoid using plastic. The school has earned good reputation and students have improved a lot in studies, especially in Hindi and English, said the director of the school.
The school employs modern teaching methods, conducts digital classes, prescribes NCERT books, and provides holistic education by including social outreach programmes in the curriculum. Parents are happy to see their children transform. Pema Dakpai, a parent who is a government employee said, “My child is brilliant. He is now able to take on responsibility.”
