Free. Residential.
Decided by merit, not money.
One JNV per district. ₹0 tuition, boarding, books, uniforms, even travel — for talented Class 5 students predominantly from rural India, selected through the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test. India's most ambitious experiment in turning a scholarship into a school.
That is a ~3.8% admit rate — comparable to selective national engineering or medical entrance tests, except this one happens at age 10. Tamil Nadu apart, almost every Indian district has a JNV that draws from its own villages and small towns. The JNVST is not a test of coaching. It is a test of reasoning, in 21 mother tongues, with no negative marking, on paper. The system was designed in 1986 to find rural talent and lift it without making it leave home for too long.
Is your child eligible? Check in 30 seconds.
The JNVST has strict eligibility — designed to filter for genuinely rural Class 5 students from the same district as the JNV. Mismatches at any rule disqualify the application.
Your child must
- Be in Class 5 right nowStudying Class 5 in academic year 2026-27 in a Government, Government-aided, or Government-recognised school. Private CBSE Class 5 students are eligible if their school is registered with the State Education Authority.
- Live in the same district as the JNVApply only to the JNV in the district where the child currently studies Class 5. Migration to another district is not allowed at the application stage.
- Be in the right age windowBorn between 1 May 2015 and 31 July 2017 for the 2027 cycle (both dates inclusive). Verify the exact range in the official 2027 prospectus.
- Have studied Class 3, 4, 5 in a rural school (for rural quota)For the 75% rural quota: full sessions in a rural school. Urban-quota seats (25%) are limited and competitive — particularly in rural districts.
Common disqualifiers
- Have already attempted JNVSTEach candidate gets exactly one attempt at the Class 6 JNVST. If your child has appeared earlier, they are not eligible to reappear.
- Have studied Class 5 in a private unrecognised schoolSchools without Government / Government-aided / Government-recognised status are not eligible. Verify the school's recognition status with the State Education Department before applying.
- Be applying from a district outside your study districtSelection is district-wise. Even if your home address is in District X, if you study Class 5 in District Y, you can only apply to the JNV in District Y.
- Be older or younger than the age windowNo age relaxations. NVS strictly enforces the upper and lower age limits as on 31 July of the admission year.
Three things make Navodaya unlike any other Indian school
Navodaya was not built to be the best school in any one place. It was built to be a redistribution machine — to take rural talent that would otherwise stay rural, and put it in a setting where it could be measured against the country's best.
Truly free, not "free-with-conditions"
Tuition, boarding, lodging, uniforms, books, stationery, and even the annual to-and-fro travel home are reimbursed by NVS. From Class 9, a ₹600/month Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi applies — but it is fully waived for all SC/ST students, all girls, all BPL families, and all Divyang students. For most beneficiary children, JNV remains free for all twelve years.
National integration as a school subject
30% of every JNV's Class IX students migrate to a JNV in a different linguistic region for an academic year. A child from rural Tamil Nadu spends a year in rural Bihar; a Bihari child in Tamil Nadu. They eat the migrated state's food, take some of its language papers, and carry that experience back. No other Indian school programme has this scale of cross-linguistic exchange.
The numbers vindicate the design
JNVs consistently rank among CBSE's top-performing categories — frequently above KVs and most private schools, on the strength of merit selection alone. The schools are not better-equipped than KVs. The students are simply pre-selected by an exam that 13 lakh of them try every year.
“No school in India admits more rural children, costs them less, and outperforms more on board exams than the average Navodaya does.”
— A reading of NVS data and CBSE outcomes
Important dates
JNV runs two parallel admission cycles per year (Summer Bound + Winter Bound JNVs) and three separate exams (Class 6 JNVST, Class 9 LEST, Class 11 LEST). Verify exact dates on navodaya.gov.in and cbseitms.rcil.gov.in/nvs.
- JNVST Class 6 Phase 1 (Summer Bound) — typically DecTBA
- JNVST Class 6 Phase 2 (Winter Bound) — typically AprilTBA
- Class 9 LEST 2027 — typically FebTBA
- JNVST Class 6 2026 Phase 1 (Summer Bound) exam12 Dec 2025
- JNVST Class 6 2026 Phase 2 (Winter Bound) exam10 Apr 2026
- Class 9 LEST 2026 exam6 Feb 2026
- Class 9 LEST 2026 result released27 Apr 2026
What JNV actually costs
JNVs are India's only fully-free residential CBSE schools. Class 6-8 is entirely free. From Class 9, a small Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi applies — with broad waivers.
- Tuition₹0
- Boarding & lodging₹0
- Uniforms₹0
- Textbooks & stationery₹0
- Annual to-and-fro travel home₹0Reimbursed by NVS
- VVN (general students)₹600/mo₹7,200/yr
- VVN (govt-employee parent ward)₹1,500/moOr actual CEA, whichever lower
- Boarding, books, uniform₹0Continues free
- SC / ST students₹0Full waiver
- All girl students₹0Regardless of category
- BPL families₹0Income certificate required
- Divyang students₹0PwD certificate required
- •Source: NVS Enrolment Policy, navodaya.gov.in. Verify before relying on the figures for budgeting — VVN amount has been revised in the past.
- •Migration-year travel costs (Class 9 to a different linguistic region) are also fully covered by NVS.
What you need at admission
Required after qualifying JNVST. Bring originals plus photocopies. NVS is stricter than KVs about original documents — incomplete files have been turned away.
Required for every applicant
- Class 5 mark sheet / promotion certificate from the candidate's current school
- Birth certificate of the candidate (Municipal / Registrar issued)
- Aadhaar of the candidate and at least one parent
- Residence certificate showing district of admission
- Two recent passport-size photographs of the candidate
- JNVST scorecard issued by NVS
If applicable to your case
- Caste certificate (SC / ST / OBC-NCL) — if claiming reservation
- Disability certificate from competent medical authority — if claiming Divyang reservation (3%)
- Income certificate / BPL ration card — if claiming VVN waiver from Class 9
- Rural-school-attendance certificate — if claiming rural quota (75%)
- Government-employee certificate from parent's employer — for fee category determination
- Migration certificate from previous school — for Class 9 LEST or Class 11 admissions
Locate the JNV for your district
Each Indian district has at most one JNV (some larger / tribal districts have additional JNVs). Search by district or state.
JNV distribution across India
Top 12 states by JNV count (pincode-derived). The 'one per district' rule means larger states have more JNVs. Tamil Nadu has no JNVs as the state declined participation. Click any state.
PM SHRI vs Kendriya Vidyalaya vs Navodaya vs Army Public School
Different networks solve different problems. This is what each one actually offers, in a glance.
| PM SHRI | Kendriya Vidyalaya | Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya You are here | Army Public School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Same as base school | ₹500–2,500/mo (varies by class & category) | ₹0 Class 6–8 · ₹600/mo VVN Class 9–12 (with waivers) | Cat 1 (Army wards) subsidised · Cat 6 civilian higher |
| Type | Quality stamp on existing schools | Day school · ~1,253 across India + 3 abroad | Fully residential · 662 functional | 137 schools · 132 day + 5 residential |
| Who can apply | Inherited (school applies, not student) | Open to all (priority order Cat 1–6) | Class 5 student, same district as JNV (75% rural quota) | Six categories — Cat 1 (serving Army wards) → Cat 6 (civilian) |
| Admission process | Inherited from base school | Class 1: lottery within priority categories | JNVST entrance exam (Mental Ability + Arithmetic + Language) | Direct (school-level) for most; entrance for residentials |
| Board | Inherited | CBSE | CBSE | CBSE |
| Next cycle | Phase 1–4 sanctioned by 2024 | Class 1 registration: 20 Mar 2026 onwards | JNVST 2027 cycle: registrations from Jun 2026 | Year-round; residentials publish own schedules |
Common questions about JNVs
What is JNVST and who can take it?+
JNVST (Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test) is the entrance exam for Class 6 admission to a JNV. The candidate must be studying Class 5 in 2026-27 in a recognised school in the same district as the JNV. Age window for the 2027 cycle: born between 1 May 2015 and 31 July 2017 (inclusive — verify in the latest prospectus).
When does JNVST 2027 application open?+
Based on the 2026 cycle pattern, the JNVST 2027 application is expected to open between June and August 2026 at cbseitms.rcil.gov.in/nvs. Two phases: Summer Bound exam in December, Winter Bound in April.
What is the JNVST exam pattern?+
80 questions, 100 marks, 2 hours. Mental Ability (40 Q / 50 marks), Arithmetic (20 Q / 25 marks), Language (20 Q / 25 marks). Single objective paper, no negative marking.
In which languages is JNVST conducted?+
21 mediums: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, English, Garo, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Khasi, Malayalam, Manipuri (Bangla), Manipuri (Meitei Mayek), Marathi, Mizo, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, plus a few additional regional options.
Can urban students apply?+
Yes, but only 25% of seats are open to urban students. The remaining 75% are reserved for students who studied Classes III, IV and V (full sessions) in a rural school in the same district as the JNV.
What is the reservation breakdown?+
Rural 75% / urban up to 25%; girls minimum one-third (33%); SC at least 15%, ST at least 7.5% (combined cap 50%); OBC 27% non-creamy-layer; Divyang 3% horizontal. Selection is district-wise, not statewide.
What does residential JNV life look like?+
Fully residential. Students live in dorms with house-parent supervision, follow a structured timetable (study, sports, life-skills), eat in common mess. Day-scholar admission is not allowed.
What does it cost?+
Class 6-8 is entirely free — tuition, boarding, lodging, uniforms, books, even to-and-fro travel. Class 9-12 has a ₹600/month Vidyalaya Vikas Nidhi (₹7,200/year). Waived for SC/ST students, all girls, BPL families, and Divyang students. Government-employee parents pay ₹1,500/month or actual children-education-allowance, whichever lower.
Are there lateral-entry tests for older classes?+
Yes. Class IX LEST and Class XI LEST are held against vacancies. Class IX LEST 2026 was held on 7 February 2026 (with a make-up sitting on 15 March 2026); the 2027 cycle is expected to follow the same pattern.
What is the migration scheme exactly?+
30% of each JNV's Class IX students migrate to a JNV in a different linguistic region for one academic year — typically between Hindi-speaking and non-Hindi-speaking regions. The scheme's national-integration mechanism. Not optional.
How is JNV different from a Sainik school?+
JNVs are coed civilian residential schools focused on academic excellence and rural-talent inclusion. Sainik Schools are mostly boys' boarding schools designed to feed the National Defence Academy.
How many JNVs are there?+
662 functional JNVs as of October 2025 (689 sanctioned). Tamil Nadu has no JNVs as the state declined participation. The Union Cabinet approved 28 new JNVs in December 2024 with a ₹2,359.82 crore outlay over 2024-29.
Can my child attempt JNVST more than once?+
No. Each candidate gets only one attempt at the Class 6 JNVST. If a child misses the cycle for their applicable year, they cannot reapply for Class 6. Class 9 LEST is a separate entry route.
How are JNVs and PM SHRI related?+
620 of 662 JNVs (94%) are sanctioned as PM SHRI schools — the highest proportion across any school network. JNVs were already academically strong; PM SHRI adds NEP-2020-aligned upgrades.
How can I verify a school is a genuine JNV?+
Cross-check on navodaya.gov.in or this directory. Genuine JNVs have a JNV Code, are CBSE-affiliated, follow the residential model, and are listed in the official region directory.
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Explore →getschoolsinfo.com is an independent education information portal. We are not affiliated with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), the Ministry of Education, or the Government of India, or with the Navodaya scheme. Names are used here purely to identify schools based on publicly available UDISE+ data. For authoritative information including JNVST application, For authoritative information, visit navodaya.gov.in.