# Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) is a system of central schools for students predominantly from rural areas in India, targeting socially and economically backward students who lack access to accelerated learning due to financial, social and rural disadvantages.
They are run by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti Noida, an autonomous organization under the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MoE),. JNVs are fully residential and co-educational schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), with classes from VI to XII standard.
Budget for all the activities at JNVs are provided by the Ministry of Education, and it is free of cost for students during the first 3 years of stay, from class IX onwards a nominal fee of ₹600 per month is applicable for general and OBC caste students.
JNVs exist all over India, with the exception of Tamil Nadu. As of 31 December 2022, 661 JNVs were running with about 2,87,568 students enrolled, out of which 2,51,430 (≈87%) were from rural areas. In 2022, JNVs were the top-ranked C.B.S.E. schools, having a pass percentage of 99.71% and 98.93% in 10th and 12th grades respectively.

## History

In 1986, Rajeev Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, announced a National Policy on Education to modernise and expand higher education programs across India. In 1986, he founded the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya System, a Central government-based education institution providing rural populations with free residential education from grades six to twelve.
As per the Policy of the Government, one JNV was to be established in each district of the country. To start with, two Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas were established during 1985–86, at Jhajjar (Haryana) and Amravati (Maharashtra). As of the 2022-23 academic session, JNVs had been sanctioned for 638 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 3 special JNVs in Manipur and Ratlam, bringing the total number of sanctioned JNVs to 661. Out of these 649 JNVs are functional.

## Organisational structure

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.
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. 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.
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. 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 the performance of academics.
Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) implemented PM SHRI Scheme across 317 selected schools in 2023-24 and, renamed these beneficiary schools as PM SHRI School Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.

## List of schools

List of JNV schools :
| Regions (no. of JNVs) | States/UTs (respective no. of JNVs) |
| Bhopal (113) | Chhattisgarh (28), Madhya Pradesh (54), Odisha (31) |
| Chandigarh (59) | Chandigarh(1), Himachal Pradesh (12), J&K (21), Ladakh (2), Punjab (23) |
| Hyderabad (77) | A & N Islands (3), Andhra Pradesh(15), Karnataka (31), Kerala (14), Lakshadweep (1), Puducherry (4), Telangana (9) |
| Jaipur (65) | Delhi (9), Haryana (21), Rajasthan (35) |
| Lucknow (89) | Uttarakhand (13), Uttar Pradesh (76) |
| Patna (85) | Bihar (39), Jharkhand (26), West Bengal (20) |
| Pune (73) | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (1+2), Goa (2), Gujarat (34), Maharashtra (34) |
| Shillong (100) | Arunachal Pradesh (18), Assam (28), Manipur (11), Meghalaya (12), Mizoram (8), Nagaland (11), Sikkim (4), Tripura (8) |
Total 661 functional residential schools have been sanctioned in 638 districts of India with some special case institutes. These are administered by eight regional offices (see table below) with jurisdiction over different states and UTs.

## Admission

Admission to Class VI of the JNVs requires qualification in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST), an entrance exam designed, developed and conducted by the CBSE. 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. Candidates can apply for the test only once during their Class V. Competition in the entrance exam can be gauged from the fact that in JNVST 2021, a total of 2,41,7009 students appeared and 47,320 students were selected (i.e. approx 2% pass percentage) The test encompasses mental ability skills, mathematics, and regional language. The schools provide reservations as per NVS policy which encompasses reservation for ST, SC and OBCs, at least 75% selection of students from rural areas, maximum 25% from urban areas, fixed 33% for female students and 3% for disabled candidates.
To compensate for attrition and optimally utilize seats, JNVST, developed by CBSE, is also conducted for admission to Class IX and lateral admissions, based on lateral test for filling the vacant seats as most of the seats in class 11th are given to students passing 10th from the school and should meet the defined criteria.

## Academics at JNVs

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, which can be attributed to their merit-based entrance test and unique climate provided for otherwise disadvantaged children, 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 congresses and exhibitions to promote a research mindset.

### Three-language formula

To facilitate migration every JNV student learns three languages in class VI to Class IX. These languages are grouped into A Level, B-I Level and B-II Level. The pattern followed in different categories of states is as shown in the table below. However, CBSE mandates for children to study two languages only. Therefore, students of each category of states appear for A Level and B-I level languages at CBSE examinations.
Three-language formula at JNVs :
| Category of state | A Level language | B-I Level language | B-II Level language |
| Hindi Speaking | Hindi | English | Regional language |
| Non-Hindi Speaking (excluding NE states) | Regional language | English | Hindi |
| North-East States | English | Hindi | Regional language |

### Board results

JNVs has consistently produced the best results in CBSE board examinations over the years. In 2015–16 results, JNVs had a pass percentage of, 98.87% in Class X board exams and 96.73% in Class XII board exams. The pass percentage for JNVs has been higher than independent private schools, government schools and even Kendriya Vidyalayas. Quality of performance in the Board examinations has been exemplary with an average score of about 75% in Grade 12th and 78% in class 10th, with more than 89% of students scoring First Division scores, in the Board Examinations 2019.

### Science promotion activities

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti provides various experiences aimed at promoting science and motivating students to choose STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as their career. Various activities under this include:
* Children Science Congress,
* Participation in multiple academic contests/Challenges/Olympiads,
* Visits to Research Institutes,
* Tinkering Labs in schools,
* Environmental activities,
* Arranging International exposure for students,
* Enriched ICT support, and
* Entrepreneurial skill training.
The annual Science Congress is organized in collaboration with research institutes and institutes of national importance at the regional level. Exhibitions are conducted at school, cluster, regional, and national levels, covering subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics.