UKHRUL: Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), located at Zeihkuluang Rongmei Naga Village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, has come under scrutiny following allegations of food shortages and inadequate hostel facilities. The Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter and directed the authorities concerned to submit a factual report and an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 48 hours.
The issue came to light after a video surfaced online showing students of the residential school crying from hunger. In the video, a student also claimed that they had reportedly not been provided any meals throughout the day.
Concerned with the situation, numerous parents arrived to the school premise on Monday and protested against the school administration. They said they enrolled their children with high hopes, considering EMRS to be a well-recognized government school but were disappointed, claiming that the schools were not providing adequate accommodation for the students to sleep or study in. They also reported irregularities with the supply of meals and claimed that their children were being distributed saline water which is unfit for human consumption.
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The parents further questioned whether the school’s administrative funds and staff salaries were being properly utilised, given the condition in which they found their children.
Following the protest, parents removed their children from the school campus and stated that they would not send them back until the hostel facilities improved. They have demanded proper meals, safe drinking water and adequate accommodation for the students. They further warned that if these issues remain unresolved, they will shift their children to private schools.
EMRS, launched under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and managed by the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), was established to provide free, fully residential education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) students in tribal-dominated areas. The schools are intended to provide quality education from the upper primary to the senior secondary level.
The allegations raised by the students and parents are particularly significant as they concern key provisions laid down in the operational guidelines issued for EMRS. The NESTS Mess Management Guidelines (2025-26) state, “Providing quality food to the students constitutes an integral part of the residential experience. EMRS has the responsibility to provide nutritious, hygienic and well-balanced meals in a clean and disciplined environment.”
The guidelines further mandate that students be provided four meals a day, including breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner. Under the revised recurring cost guidelines issued by NESTS on May 1, 2025, the annual mess expenditure has been revised to ₹25,279 per student.
Similarly, under the Repair and Maintenance Fund guidelines, every EMRS is eligible to receive a maximum grant of ₹18 lakh per annum. The provisions cover preventive and routine maintenance, annual and special repairs from plumbing and water supply systems, sanitation facilities to structural maintenance, as well as the upkeep and replacement of hostel furniture, mattresses and beds.
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The MCPCR has noted that initial information pointed to a serious shortage of food supplies at the residential school, with available stocks reportedly insufficient for both students and staff. As a result, essential food items were depleted, forcing the school to suspend breakfast on some days. It also took note of reports that several students had to be provided medical care, while others were taken home by their parents amid growing concerns over their health and nutrition.
To address the situation, the MCPCR has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur and the Director of Tribal Affairs & Hills to immediately visit the school, assess the prevailing conditions and ascertain whether there were lapses in its administration. The Commission has further instructed the authorities to ensure the prompt restoration of basic services, including regular meals, healthcare and access to safe drinking water, and to furnish a factual report along with an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 48 hours.
