Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are the premier schools established by Govt. of India to provide modern education to the talented children predominantly from the rural areas, without regard to their family's socio-economic conditions. Usually each district in the country(except in Tamilnadu) has one JNV. They were supposed to serve as focal points for improvements in quality of school education in each district. There are around 500 JNVs in the country. The first JNV was established in 1986.
I myself is an alumnus of JNV Nalgonda.
Unlike many other government schemes that went into the pages of history without making any significant impact on the society, Navodaya system was considered to be one of the most successful efforts of Govt. of India towards the promotion of quality education among the poor and underprivileged.
The remarkable feature of JNVs is their rural character. Almost all the campuses of JNVs (which are essentially residential) are located in rural areas, often away from any human habitation. Every year 80 students are taken into 6th class through an aptitude test that is composed of questions related to mental ability, elementary mathematics and some verbal ability. 75 % of the seats are reserved for students from rural areas. Seats are reserved for SCs/STs according to the proportion of their population in the district. Also admission procedure ensures that 1/3rd of the students are girls. They provide everything that is required to the student to be able to unleash all her/his creative energies. There is no need for any general store/stationary shop as everything from pens, refills, soaps, towel, toothpaste, shoes, bathroom slippers, uniform to mess, library, play-kits are provided by the school free of cost. They even provide traveling charges to go home during vacations. Note that all these facilities are essential to provide education at par with urban public schools since the students with rural background simply cannot afford them on their own.
The schools aim at all round development of students. Every student till 10th class has to attend compulsory classes in drawing, music and other cultural activities. Everyday 2-3 hours are completely dedicated to games and sports.
They are noted for the freedom they give to students which ultimately makes the student self-motivated and self sustaining.
The most important feature of navodaya system is the program of Migration. Under this 30% of students in 9th class are mutually exchanged between two different schools(usually the two schools belong to a hindi state and a non-hindi state). The aim of this is national integration(The tamil-lovers opposed this and hence no JNV is established in Tamilnadu). The students spends an year in a school different from that of his home district and in a different state from his home state. I myself spent an year in the remote Panna district in Bundhelkhand region. That is how I came across the vastness, diversity and a fundamental unity of people and cultures across my country.
The importance of navodaya lies in the fact that they produce not just the students of high intellectual quality but an army of citizens conscious of their responsibility and duty and dedicated towards building a prosperous India.
Reservations for girls and SC/STs also worked more positively in case of navodayas. Unlike many other educational institutions, where most of the benefits of reservations are cornered by well-off individuals or the urban middle class in respective groups, it did not happen in case navodayas. This is because of the reservation to rural areas. 90% of the reserved category students are really from economically weak background. In fact it often happens that the students from SC/STs are more than what are reserved to them.
Like every other govt institution, JNVs are also plagued with many problems. Maladministration , corruption, lack of discipline among students, deteriorating quality of teachers are some of them. Though there is excellent education up to 10th class, often 11th and 12th classes are neglected by both students and teachers. Students, though intelligent, coming out of relatively shielded and isolated environment of school, are finding it hard to survive in this world of cut-throat competition.
What I liked most in navodaya is not these facilities and not even the quality education they provided. It is the atmosphere of creativity and innovation that generally prevails in the campus in contract to many other schools(infact the whole schooling system in India). We made mathematical models out of wood, built small houses out of earth, made instruments to measure height of a water tank from the ground. I myself being from a rural area would not have been here in IIT if it is not Navodaya.
I myself is an alumnus of JNV Nalgonda.
Unlike many other government schemes that went into the pages of history without making any significant impact on the society, Navodaya system was considered to be one of the most successful efforts of Govt. of India towards the promotion of quality education among the poor and underprivileged.
The remarkable feature of JNVs is their rural character. Almost all the campuses of JNVs (which are essentially residential) are located in rural areas, often away from any human habitation. Every year 80 students are taken into 6th class through an aptitude test that is composed of questions related to mental ability, elementary mathematics and some verbal ability. 75 % of the seats are reserved for students from rural areas. Seats are reserved for SCs/STs according to the proportion of their population in the district. Also admission procedure ensures that 1/3rd of the students are girls. They provide everything that is required to the student to be able to unleash all her/his creative energies. There is no need for any general store/stationary shop as everything from pens, refills, soaps, towel, toothpaste, shoes, bathroom slippers, uniform to mess, library, play-kits are provided by the school free of cost. They even provide traveling charges to go home during vacations. Note that all these facilities are essential to provide education at par with urban public schools since the students with rural background simply cannot afford them on their own.
The schools aim at all round development of students. Every student till 10th class has to attend compulsory classes in drawing, music and other cultural activities. Everyday 2-3 hours are completely dedicated to games and sports.
They are noted for the freedom they give to students which ultimately makes the student self-motivated and self sustaining.
The most important feature of navodaya system is the program of Migration. Under this 30% of students in 9th class are mutually exchanged between two different schools(usually the two schools belong to a hindi state and a non-hindi state). The aim of this is national integration(The tamil-lovers opposed this and hence no JNV is established in Tamilnadu). The students spends an year in a school different from that of his home district and in a different state from his home state. I myself spent an year in the remote Panna district in Bundhelkhand region. That is how I came across the vastness, diversity and a fundamental unity of people and cultures across my country.
The importance of navodaya lies in the fact that they produce not just the students of high intellectual quality but an army of citizens conscious of their responsibility and duty and dedicated towards building a prosperous India.
Reservations for girls and SC/STs also worked more positively in case of navodayas. Unlike many other educational institutions, where most of the benefits of reservations are cornered by well-off individuals or the urban middle class in respective groups, it did not happen in case navodayas. This is because of the reservation to rural areas. 90% of the reserved category students are really from economically weak background. In fact it often happens that the students from SC/STs are more than what are reserved to them.
Like every other govt institution, JNVs are also plagued with many problems. Maladministration , corruption, lack of discipline among students, deteriorating quality of teachers are some of them. Though there is excellent education up to 10th class, often 11th and 12th classes are neglected by both students and teachers. Students, though intelligent, coming out of relatively shielded and isolated environment of school, are finding it hard to survive in this world of cut-throat competition.
What I liked most in navodaya is not these facilities and not even the quality education they provided. It is the atmosphere of creativity and innovation that generally prevails in the campus in contract to many other schools(infact the whole schooling system in India). We made mathematical models out of wood, built small houses out of earth, made instruments to measure height of a water tank from the ground. I myself being from a rural area would not have been here in IIT if it is not Navodaya.
1 comment:
awesome yaar...u have touched the soul of Navodaya policy and yet nothing is biased.
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