Andaman and Nicobar Islands state education has a very strong network of schools and centers of higher education. The education department of Andaman and Nicobar is devoted towards enhancing the education profile of the State, specially the comparatively deprived tribal regions. As a result of their tireless work and efforts, Andaman and Nicobar is presently a Union Territory with one of the highest literacy rates in the country.
School Education
The school education of Andaman and Nicobar, the fundamental base of state education in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is highly subsidized and expansive. They reach to even the most remote of the tribal areas. The department of education has left no stone unturned to attract the children towards the schools and thus pump up the education profile of the State. Above 200 primary schools comprise Andaman and Nicobar Islands state education. A number of vernacular schools are also a key feature of the state education of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Various Ashram schools have been established in the tribal areas to propagate education among the tribal populace of the islands.
Primary Schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The system of primary schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is much the same as is followed in the entire country. However, what surprises one is the sheer reach that Andaman and Nicobar Islands primary schools have managed to reach. It should be remembered in this context, that disseminating education in the remote islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is not the easiest of tasks. However, the good will of the government of the area and the various departments has managed to do the impossible.Andaman and Nicobar Islands primary schools have been successfully established in even the most impenetrable stretches of the island. The literacy rate that was languishing in the lower 30 percent in the early 1960s has rose up to a staggering 70 percent in the early 1990s. No doubt a great segment of the rural and tribal areas have been successfully brought under the folds of formal education. The role of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands primary schools cannot be denied in this context.
Secondary Schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Most Andaman and Nicobar Islands secondary schools are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) with its head office in Delhi.
Senior-Secondary Schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The government Andaman and Nicobar Islands Senior Secondary Schools are under the control of the directorate of education of the union territory. Andaman and Nicobar Islands has an enviable literacy rate, unattained by states and union territories of India. The senior secondary schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands go a long way in improving the education profile of the entire region. Most of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Senior Secondary Schools fall under the CBSE board, with its head office at Delhi. However, certain other boards too have their education network in the islands. The total number of senior secondary schools at Andaman and Nicobar Islands are 49.
Vernacular Schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andaman and Nicobar Islands vernacular schools refer both to the schools that use languages other than English as the primary mode of education and the schools established in the remote areas to promote and impart education in the indigenous tribal languages. Andaman and Nicobar Islands is situated at cultural crossroads. Members of almost every Indian community and linguistic group inhabit the islands. Although English is the official language followed by Hindi as the second most commonly understood language in the area, many linguistic affiliations provide an unprecedented multiplicity to the demography of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. But the indigenous tribes were often left out in the wake of development. The vernacular schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands likes to set the records straight in favor of the many tribes of the islands.
Ashram Schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Ashram schools are the results of an unique attempt by the education department of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to rope in the tribal populace within the folds of mainstream formal eduction.Andaman and Nicobar Islands Ashram schools are typically residential institutes that provide for lodgings, food and the education of the students free of cost, who largely come from the long deprived tribal populace of the state. There are two Ashram schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Ashram schools of Andaman and Nicobar Islands derive its name from the Sanskrit word signifying a center of education where the students stay to receive all round education from the preceptor and the teachers. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands ashram schools are built more or less on the same lines. The education is always free of cost and is encouraged and run by the Education department of the Government of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Ashram schools at Andaman and Nicobar Islands enjoy great popularity in the tribal areas. The tribal populace, long indifferent towards education and living a comparatively isolated life, have now woken up to the importance of education. Though the beginnings were full of doubts and trepidation, they soon gathered wide popularity.
The literacy rate of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has increased manifolds in the recent years. So much so, that it presently has a literacy rate of above 70 percent, far outdoing many high-profile states of the Indian mainland. It would not have been possible for the education department to carry this out without spreading education in some of the remotest tribal areas. Andaman and Nicobar Ashram schools are the main reasons that this feat could be achieved.
Middle Schools
Andaman and Nicobar Islands middle schools are extremely popular. They follow the middle school system followed in as many as 18 states and union territories of India. The Middle Schools of Indian education system in these states signify the stage from the sixth to the eighth standard. Typically a student moves on from the middle school stage to the secondary stage.Middle schools of Andaman and Nicobar Islands follow the same system.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Middle Schools Infrastructure :
Andaman and Nicobar middle schools are extremely important in a area, because it helps to curb down on the number of school dropouts in the state. This step by the education department of India has significantly helped in cutting down the number of school leavers and dropouts over the years. It also provides an impetus for the students to get into the secondary system of education. The middle schools in Andaman and Nicobar Islands largely serve the same purpose. Middle schools in Andaman and Nicobar are present in both English and vernacular mediums. The Aberdeen Middle school in Port Blair is one such example that imparts education in Tamil medium.
Number and Distribution of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Middle Schools :
Andaman and Nicobar Islands middle schools amount to 58 in number. The middle schools at Andaman and Nicobar Islands are distributed all over the islands. Most schools in the urban areas are not exclusively middle schools, but many middle schools are there in the remote and rural areas of the state.
Higher Education
Andaman and Nicobar Islands state education also has a great infrastructure for higher education. The colleges of Andaman and Nicobar were originally affiliated to the Rangoon University. However, the cessation of Burma from India brought about a change in the structure of state education at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The colleges thereafter became affiliated to the Calcutta University. The higher eduction of Andaman and Nicobar State education includes two training institutes, two polytechnic colleges, a government B.Ed. College and a government college.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands B.Ed. College
Andaman and Nicobar Islands B.Ed. College is one of the most important higher education institutes of the region. Located in Port Blair, the government B.Ed. college of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is affiliated to the University of Pondicherry.
Known as the Tagore Government College of Education, this only Andaman and Nicobar Islands B.Ed. College< is committed towards training the teachers for the various schools of the union territory.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Government College
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Government College amount to two in number. Each government college of Andaman and Nicobar Islands< is committed towards providing degree level education to the students interested in higher education in the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The number of courses offered by each of the two Andaman and Nicobar Islands Government College are many in number.
Each Andaman and Nicobar government college is under the supervision and direct control of the directorate of education in the region. There being no university in the area, the affiliations of every government college in Andaman and Nicobar Islands changed from time to time. However, presently it is settled under the affiliation of the Pondicherry University.
Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya is the most prestigious government college at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is under the control of the directorate of education and is widely sought after by many students interested in higher studies. Established in 1967 in Port Blair, Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya boasts of an alumni that is placed in various important capacities in organizations across India and the world.
Presently the college has 40 faculty members and a student enrollment close to 850. the college offers post graduate along with undergraduate courses. The courses offered by this government college of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are:
- BSc
- BA
- Bcom
- Msc
- MA
Polytechnic Colleges
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Polytechnic colleges serve an extremely important purpose in the education and the professional sphere of the state. There are two colleges teaching polytechnic in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Both the Andaman and Nicobar Islands polytechnic colleges are affiliated to the Maharashtra SBTE, and approved by the All India council for Technical Education (AICTE). They offer a wide array of courses. There are professional courses which are both technical and vocational in nature. There are also courses specifically designed for the development of women. Given below are the profiles of the two polytechnic colleges of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Government Polytechnic
This is the oldest college in the field of polytechnic at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This Andaman and Nicobar Islands Polytechnic college is located at Dollygunj in the Pahargaon region of Port Blair. With a total of above 200 seats, the college offers courses in the following disciplines:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Automobile Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Marine Engineering
- Information Technology
P.D. Courses include:
- Refrigeration an AC Engineering
- Computer Applications
- Marine Engineering
This is the second most important polytechnic of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was created in 1989 to cater to the growing demand of certain courses that were not presented in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Government Polytechnic. Located in Dollygunj in the Pahargaon, the total seat capacity of this college is 40 and offers two courses for the students:
- Electronics and Commercial Engineering
- Hotel Management and Catering Technology
Training programes
Industrial Training
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Industrial Training Institute is an extremely important part of the education system of the union territory. They provide education and train people to play an important role in the various important industries that have developed in and around the area. The Industrial Training Institute of Andaman and Nicobar islands is located in Port Blair, and assures jobs to many of the talented students of the state.
Admission to the Industrial Training Institute at Andaman and Nicobar Islands is highly sought after, and students are taken in through a competitive examination. Many talented students of Andaman and Nicobar Islands take this examination in order to excel in the fields of technical studies.
Teacher Training
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Teachers Training Institute is an extremely important part of the state's education system. Located in Port Blair, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Teachers Training Institute train teachers for the wide network of primary schools in the state. The courses offered are designed in such a way so as to train the teachers in the basics of education theory, practice and student psychology. There are both theoretical and practical courses that are offered by the Teachers Training Institute in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Teachers Training Institute is a government organization. The Teachers Training Institute at Andaman and Nicobar Islands is an unique endeavor that has been undertaken by the directorate of education of the state, in order to bring up teachers to teach the children in the various primary schools, some of which are located in the most remote areas of the union territory. The students are admitted to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Teachers Training Institute through a competitive examination. The trained teachers are posted in various schools through the employment exchange after the successful completion of the courses in the Teachers Training Institute of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Last Updated on: 2nd April 2013
