NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA SCHEME Navodaya Vidyalayas are run by Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education and Literacy, Govt. of India The National Policy on Education ? 1996 envisaged setting up of residential schools, to be called Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas that would bring out the best of rural talent. It was felt that children with special talent or aptitude should be provided opportunities to progress at a faster pace by making good quality education available to them irrespective or their capacity to pay for it. Such education would enable students from rural areas to compete with their urban counterparts on an equal footing. The Navodaya Vidyalaya System which began as a unique experiment, is today unparalleled in the annals of school education in India and else where. Its significance lies in the selection of talented rural children as the target group and the attempt to provide them with quality education comparable to the best in a residential school system.