President Murmu Meets Meritorious EMRS Students

President Droupadi Murmu spent the afternoon with meritorious students and alumni of Eklavya Model Residential Schools at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in New Delhi. The programme was put together by the National Education Society for Tribal Students under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, as part of Janjatiya Gaurav Pakhwada, the fortnight observed around the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, whose 151st birth anniversary falls this year.

What the President told the students

She asked them to set high goals and to chase those goals with dedication, discipline and self-confidence. Education, she said, should not stop at earning a living: a student who uses knowledge to create work for others pushes the country’s inclusive development forward. She also urged the students to follow current affairs and the changes under way in India and the world, because that habit builds logical thinking and the ability to analyse, and to carry what they learn, including information about welfare schemes, back to their families and neighbours when they visit their villages.

On the schools and on roots

The President said the schools give tribal students quality education and room to develop their many talents, and that talent is not scarce in India, only opportunity, a supportive setting and sound guidance are. She was pleased that boys and girls are present in equal numbers in these schools, which she called a marker of inclusive development. She also asked the students to stay close to their identity, their cultural heritage and their villages, and, once they become doctors, engineers, administrators and professionals, to work for the development of the communities they came from. The country, she reminded them, is working towards the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Who took part

• 146 meritorious students and alumni from these schools across the country, including Class X and Class XII toppers.
• Students who won places at the IITs, NITs, National Law Universities, NIFT and government medical colleges.
• Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram, who delivered the welcome address.

The President felicitated the Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of the tribal welfare departments of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha, five District Magistrates and the principals of five best-performing schools. Awards also went to the best-performing tribal startups. A short film on the students’ journeys was screened.