By: Education DeskNew Delhi | November 13, 2025 02:56 PM IST 3 min readJEE, NEET UG: As of 2024-25, as many as 485 EMRS schools are functional, educating over 1.38 lakh students (representative image/ Pexels)As many as 597 students from Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) have cleared the country’s most competitive entrance exams — Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main), JEE Advanced, and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) – in the 2024-25 academic year. This is a rise from just two students in 2022-23 and 22 in 2023-24, according to official data.According to data shared by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 219 EMRS students qualified JEE Main, 34 cleared JEE Advanced, and 344 cracked NEET UG in 2024-25. The success stories span 12 states, including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh, which accounted for the majority of the qualifiers. Among the 230 EMRS schools offering Class 12, students from 101 schools have made it to India’s top engineering and medical entrance lists this year.State-wise highlightsGujarat and Madhya Pradesh led the chart, producing 173 and 115 NEET qualifiers, respectively, along with multiple students qualifying for JEE Advanced. Gujarat recorded 37 JEE Main qualifiers and three JEE Advanced qualifiers. Madhya Pradesh stood out with 51 students clearing JEE Main and 10 qualifying JEE Advanced.Telangana recorded one of the strongest performances with 60 JEE Main qualifiers, 10 students cleared JEE Advanced, and 24 made it through NEET.From Andhra Pradesh, 17 students cleared JEE Main, one qualified JEE Advanced, and none cleared NEET. Chhattisgarh saw 17 students clear JEE Main, three qualify JEE Advanced, and 18 pass NEET.In Himachal Pradesh, three students cleared JEE Main, one qualified JEE Advanced, and seven cleared NEET.From Jharkhand, six students passed JEE Main, though none qualified JEE Advanced or NEET. Karnataka had seven students clearing JEE Main, with no students qualifying JEE Advanced or NEET.Story continues below this adMaharashtra had seven JEE Main qualifiers, two in JEE Advanced, and seven in NEET, while Odisha saw 10 students clear JEE Main, four qualify JEE Advanced, and none clear NEET.From Uttar Pradesh, one student cleared JEE Main, while Uttarakhand recorded three JEE Main qualifiers, with no students in JEE Advanced or NEET.Empowering tribal talent through EMRSEMRS, established by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, provides free, CBSE-affiliated education, boarding, meals, and healthcare to tribal children in rural and remote areas.As of 2024-25, as many as 485 EMRS schools are functional, educating over 1.38 lakh students. In total, 722 schools have been sanctioned, with financial support under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution, which ensures annual grants-in-aid for promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.Story continues below this adLaunched in 1997-98 and significantly expanded under the Union Budget 2018-19, the EMRS scheme aims to establish a school in every block with over 50 per cent tribal population and at least 20,000 tribal residents. Each school is designed to offer holistic development – from academics to sports – helping bridge the opportunity gap for tribal youth.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd