Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya

The idea of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas conceived by former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.[6][7] The concept of opening a JNV in every district of India was born as a part of the National Policy on Education, 1986 with an aim of providing excellence coupled with social justice.[8] Subsequently, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) was registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.[8]

As per policy of the government, one JNV was to be established in each district of country. To start with, two Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas were established during 1985–86, at Jhajjar (Haryana) and Amravati (Maharashtra).[8] As of the 2015–16 academic session, JNVs had been sanctioned for 576 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 two special JNVs in Manipur, bringing the total number of sanctioned JNVs to 598.[9] Out of these 591 JNVs are functional.[10] In November 2016, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the opening of one JNV in each of the 62 uncovered districts.[10] That will bring the total number of JNVs to 660 once operational.

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.[11][12]

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.[12] The executive head of the administrative pyramid is the Commissioner who executes the policies laid down by the Samiti's Executive Committee. He/she is assisted at the Headquarters level by Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners. The Samiti has established eight regional offices for the administration and monitoring of Navodaya Vidyalayas under their jurisdiction. These offices are headed by a deputy commissioner and assistant commissioners.[12]

For each JNV, there is a Vidyalaya Advisory Committee for assistance on matters of academics, infrastructure and other general activities and a Vidyalaya Management Committee for budget preparation, selection of ad-hoc teachers and proper functioning of the school.[11] Normally the district collector of the concerned district is the ex-officio chairman of school level committees with local educationists, public representatives and officers from the district as members. Some schools also have a Vidhyalaya Coordination Committee for looking after performance of academics.[11][12]

Total 661 functional residential schools have been sanctioned in 638 districts of India with some special case institutes. These are administrated by eight regional offices (see table below) with jurisdiction over different states and UTs.[12]

Admission to Class VI of the JNVs requires qualification in the (JNVST), an entrance exam designed, developed and conducted by the CBSE.[14][15] 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.[15][14] Candidates can apply for the test only once during their Class V.[14] Competition in the entrance exam can be gauged from fact that in JNVST 2015, a total of 1,878.15 thousand students appeared and 41.48 thousand students were selected (i.e. approx 2% pass percentage)[15][14] The test encompasses mental ability skills, mathematics, and regional language. The schools provide reservation as per NVS policy which encompasses reservation for ST and SC (but not OBC),[16] at least 75% selection of students from rural areas, maximum 25% from urban areas, fixed 33% for female students and 3% for disabled candidates.[14]

To compensate for attrition and optimally utilize seats, JNVST, developed by CBSE, is also conducted for a admission to Class IX[15][14] and lateral admissions, based on merit in Class X, are made for Class XI.[14]

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,[17] which can be attributed to their merit-based entrance test and unique climate provided for otherwise disadvantaged children,[18] 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 congress and exhibitions to promote a research mindset.[19]

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 in the same campus and interact with students on 24X7 basis leading to a familial feeling.[26]

Emulating the concept of residential schools for talented children, Odisha State plans to set up one Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya (OAV) (literally "Odisha Model School") at each of 314 block headquarters.[27] 160 schools have already been launched.[28] 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.[29]

Incidents of suicide among students and the lack of apparatus to engage with such issues concerning health and discrimination plague the schools.[30] This has affected the Dalit and Tribal students more and there is no method in place to avoid such incidents.[31][32] 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.[33][34]

Notable alumni include:

• Surendra Poonia, international award-winning sportsman and Limca book record holder
• Sanjeev Mohapatra, Indian cinematographer
• C.K. Vineeth, India national football team member and Kerala Blasters player
• V.T. Balram, current MLA of Thrithala Constituency, Kerala since May 2011
• Dhananjay Kannoujia, current MLA of Belthara Road Constituency, Uttar Pradesh since March 2017
• Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Indian Under-17 football team member and Kerala Blasters player
• Ummer Fayaz Parray, Indian Army officer who was abducted and killed in Kashmir
• Lalit Prabhakar, Marathi actor

• Kendriya Vidyalayas, another chain of CBSE schools under MHRD, Government of India

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.

• NVS Official Website
• JNVST Result