President Droupadi Murmu poses for a group photograph with Governor of Andhra Pradesh S. Abdul Nazeer, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, A.P. IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, faculty members and university officials during the first convocation of the Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
The Central Tribal University is poised to play a key role in addressing the challenges faced by the tribal youth of this region, not only by providing access to higher education but also by guiding them to navigate the education system and become successful, said Governor Abdul Nazeer.He congratulated the graduates, post graduates and research scholars who received their degrees and medals during the first Convocation of the Central Tribal University, Vizianagaram, which was held in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (June 30, 2026).During his address, Mr. Abdul Nazeer said that apart from providing equitable access to higher education, priority must be given to address the cultural relevance and quality of education provided to tribal students, by including multilingual education, culturally responsive pedagogy, and a curriculum that respects and integrates tribal knowledge systems.He said that there is a significant increase in female literacy among the tribal community. The government has designed and implemented a number of welfare schemes for the Tribal people, such as providing coaching under a pre-examination training to enable them to appear for competitive examinations. Special emphasis was laid on the education of tribal girls by starting Ashram Schools, Residential Schools, and Industrial Training Institutes exclusively for the benefit of tribal youth.Congratulating the graduating students, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that today’s youth have an equally significant responsibility in contributing towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the present generation would play a decisive role in transforming India into a developed nation by 2047. He further highlighted the growing opportunities for research in emerging disciplines such as biotechnology, behavioural sciences, psychology and public health.Speaking about Andhra Pradesh’s growth prospects, the Minister said the State had entered a new phase of development. Referring to discussions with A.P. IT Minister Nara Lokesh during his visit to a nearby school earlier in the day, he said Andhra Pradesh possesses the potential to become a trillion-dollar economy in the coming years. He added that graduates from institutions such as the Central Tribal University would be among the biggest beneficiaries of this transformation.Highlighting the significance of the occasion, Mr. Lokesh said there could be no better chief guest for the first convocation of a tribal university than President Droupadi Murmu, whose life itself demonstrates the transformative power of education. Recalling the President’s inspiring journey, he said she was born in the small tribal village in Odisha, where access to education was difficult and higher education for tribal girls was rare. Despite these challenges, she became the first woman from her village to earn a college degree, a milestone that transformed not only her own future but also inspired generations of tribal girls. Published - June 30, 2026 09:09 pm IST
