About Us

Ever since the origin of man on earth, the quest for knowledge has been continuing, however possessing the relevant knowledge is critical for the wholesome development of the mankind. The realm of human development encompasses the potential of the people who are   knowledgeable, lead long and healthy life for a decent standard of living. Due to several reasons the human development has been asymmetrical and the most unprivileged and marginalised sections of people are tribal populations, whose accessibility to the present day benefits of technological advancement is still limited.

The level of knowledge is an important poverty indicator and the inability of the tribal children to access and acquire knowledge is the main reason for the backwardness of tribes. Education is the basic necessity for the socio-economic development of any individuals and the society. An ideal and customized education system that suits the special needs of the tribal children and provides an opportunity to pursue the personal aspirations and career goals, is the cornerstone to the progress of tribal communities.

According to 1991 census the literacy rate of the country was 52.2% while it was 44.09% in Andhra Pradesh and the literacy was much lower among Tribes that stood at 17.16% only in the State. The 2001 census reveals that the nation’s general literacy rate has gone up to 65.38%, where as  AP records only 61.11%, and  the ST literacy rate in the state is still low at 37.04%. The female literacy rate among Tribes in AP is only 26.11% as against a general literacy rate of 61.11%. The literacy rate recorded an increase of 13% from 1991 to 2001 in general category across India, whereas it was only 17.5% among Tribes. The dropout among Tribes was found to be very high at 49.73 % in primary sections, 78.51% in upper primary and 81.76% in higher secondary sections.

In pursuit of the objective of universalization of elementary education of adequate quality to ensure satisfactory learning standards among children, Government of Andhra Pradesh has established APTWREIS (Gurukulam) in 1999 to provide a focused education to the tribal children, while building a congenial environment in which the children can foster their fullest potential to be knowledgeable and skilful to set off a respectable and meaningful life.

History

Until the year 1999, the Tribal Welfare Residential Schools were under the Management of the Andhra Pradesh Residential Educational Institutions Society(APREIS), which was later  bifurcated into Andhra Pradesh Residential Educational Institutions Society and Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (G.O.Ms.No: 51 S.W (TW.Edn.I Dept) dated 03-06-1998) and APTWREIS popularly called Gurukulam, came into existence w.e.f. 3.6.1998 to take care of enrolment and retention of tribal children and improvement in the quality of education imparted to them with Head Quarters at Hyderabad. The Society started functioning effectively from 01.06.1999 after bifurcation from APREI Society (R).

Vision

With mission mode approach, Gurukulam is committed to strengthen the institutions with strong passion to produce its students to the level of National and International standards.

Gurukulam is confident to produce world class professionals as the noble citizen and humanitarians by restoring their cultural ethos.

Mission

Gurukulam is committed to promoting and imparting quality and excellence in education that supports interdisciplinary inquiry, intellectual development, knowledge and skill acquisition, and student success through a diverse, fully-engaged, learner-centered campus environment.

The revolutionary 86th Constitutional Amendment Act 2002 made free and compulsory education for all children between 6 and 14 years of age, as a fundamental right and led to the insertion of Article 21-A in Part III of the Constitution. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 provides for free and compulsory education for all children of the age 6 to 14 years. In compliance with the constitutional provisions, APTWREIS (Gurukulam) vows to mould the tribal children for attaining an all-round development to become the real assets of the nation.

Presently (190) educational institutions are functioning under the control of AP Gurukulam. Out of which (78) are residential institutions funded by Government of AP. In addition to this (19) EMRS and (12) Mini Gurukulams meant for low literacy areas funded by Govt. of India and (81) Newly converted Hostels into Tribal Welfare Residential schools are also functioning under Gurukulam.

 The following are the categories of Residential Institutions :

 

Sl. No.	Category of Institution	Focus	Category				Strength
			B	G	Co	Total	Boys	Girls	Co	Total
1	Residential Schools	5th to 10th	18	10	0	28	7467	4622	0	12089
2	PTG Res. Schools	3rd to 10th	08	02	0	10	4039	904	0	4933
3	Residential Jr. Colleges	Intermediate	18	11	0	29	4502	3497	0	7999
4	Upgraded Residential Jr. Colleges	5th to Inter	01	03	0	04	525	2012	0	2537
5	Schools of Excellence	8th to Inter	02	02	0	04	600	565	0	1165
6	Colleges of Excellence	Intermediate	01	02	0	03	152	287	0	439
7	Converted Hostels into TW Schools	3rd to 6th	50	31	0	81	9465	6256	0	15721
8	Mini Gurukulams	1st to 5th / 8th	0	12	0	12	0	2493	0	2493
9	EMRS	6th- Intermediate	0	0	19	19	0	0	3664	3603
	Total :		98	73	19	190	28237	19149	3664	51040