Gujarat govt to provide free coaching for tribal students to crack NEET-JEE

The Gujarat government has undertaken an initiative to provide free coaching for tribal students aspiring to become doctors and engineers. The initiative aims to help these students crack the highly competitive National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

Currently, the Gujarat State Tribal Education Society (GSTES) operates 44 schools in tribal areas, including 26 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), 9 Girls Literacy Residential Schools (GLRS), and 9 model schools. These schools, particularly those focusing on science, offer free coaching for NEET and JEE exams in collaboration with voluntary organisations.

In 2023, a total of 825 tribal students appeared for NEET, of which 364 qualified. Similarly, in 2024, 1,015 tribal students appeared for NEET and 412 cleared the exam. For JEE Mains, 116 tribal students appeared in 2023 and 77 qualified, while in 2024, 136 students appeared and 82 qualified.

Remarkably, in 2021, a student from EMRS Khodada-Tapi secured admission to IIT Jodhpur in Civil Engineering, and in 2022, a student from EMRS Pardi got  admission to IIT Gandhinagar in Material Science.

In 2023, over 450 tribal students secured admission to higher education institutions. These include 26 students in MBBS, 94 in BE/BTech, and 330 in other paramedical and professional courses.

GSTES manages a total of 105 schools to provide high-quality education to tribal children. These schools are located in 15 tribal districts, including Dang, Valsad, Navsari, Tapi, Surat, Narmada, Vadodara, Chhotaudepur, Panchmahal, Dahod, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Aravalli, Mahisagar, and Gir-Somnath.