APTWREIS Secretary M. Gowthami interacting with students at the Centre of Excellence in Marikavalasa, Visakhapatnam, on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGMENT
The State government on Sunday (August 30, 2026) said that it had established a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the Residential School (RS-B) in Marikavalasa to provide intensive coaching to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and the Indian Institutes of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE), with the aim of increasing their representation in premier educational institutions. The remark comes at a time when controversy is brewing over the shifting of the residential school in Marikavalasa.Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (APTWREIS) secretary, M. Gowthami, visited the Centre on Sunday and inspected the classrooms. She described the initiative as a “historic decision” by the State government and said a CoE had been sanctioned for the Tribal Welfare Department on the lines of similar centres functioning under the Backward Classes and Social Welfare Departments.The Centre has a sanctioned intake of 600 Intermediate students, comprising 300 boys and 300 girls, selected through a merit-based process. Physics Wallah, Noida, has been engaged as the coaching agency following a request-for-proposal process. Eighteen faculty members have been deputed and classes have commenced, she said.Ms. Gowthami said Marikavalasa was chosen because of Visakhapatnam’s position as an educational hub and considerations relating to transport and other facilities for students from the North Andhra agency and plain areas. She said the Centre had adopted a co-educational format on the lines of Eklavya Model Residential Schools, while providing separate dormitories and classrooms for boys and girls, besides CCTV cameras, dedicated wardens and enhanced security arrangements.As part of the transition, students earlier enrolled at RS (B), Marikavalasa, were shifted in a phased manner: 232 to the School of Excellence (Girls), Marikavalasa; 77 to APSWREIS institutions at Srikrishnapuram, Sabbavaram and Devarapalli; and 136 to APTWR institutions of their choice. Ms. Gowthami said students were shifted by bus under teachers’ supervision, with parents informed in advance and a farewell organised. She denied allegation that the campus had been vacated overnight.Amid ongoing protests by tribal organisations and parents seeking continuation of the residential school at Marikavalasa, Minister of Tribal Welfare and Women and Child Welfare Gummidi Sandhya Rani said the Centre had been established at the instance of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, with the objective of improving educational standards among ST students and increasing their representation in premier educational institutions.Ms. Sandhya Rani said 445 students of the Marikavalasa residential school had been shifted in phases without interruption to their education. She said 411 students were already studying at various schools, while alleging that some opposition leaders and tribal organisations were influencing the remaining 34 students and their parents, thereby affecting their education.She appealed against politicising the education and future of tribal children. She said the government’s objective was to prepare ST students for national-level competitive examinations and provide them opportunities to seek admission to institutions such as the IITs, NITs, AIIMS and medical colleges. Published - August 30, 2026 07:37 pm IST
