– Ronita Torcato

Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department (TDD) is constantly striving to provide more opportunities in higher education to tribal students and efforts will be made to provide foreign scholarships as well to these students, tribal development minister Dr. Ashok Wuike said at a felicitation programme in New Delhi for meritorious students from the tribal community.

Dr. Wuike congratulated the students and wished them well for the future.

“Taking inspiration from the remarkable success achieved by tribal students, other students should also make good progress through education and play a valuable role in the upliftment of the society,” he said.

Students felicitated include Sushant Atram from Yavatmal district, who has completed his B.Sc. in Computer Science from Ferguson College, Pune and will proceed to the University of Southampton in the UK for his Master’s.

Shreyas Patkar from the Warli community at Uplat, Talasari taluka has earned a degree in B.Sc Computer Science and has been selected for a postgraduate course, M.Sc. in Data Science, at the University of Bristol, UK.

Vivek Padwale, yet another successful Warli student, also hails from Talasari where this correspondent had volunteered long years ago during vacations as part of the Social Service League of St Xavier’s College.

Padwale has qualified for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2026 in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DA).

The GATE 2026 exam for 30 tests conducted by IIT Guwahati on February 7, 8, 14 & 15, 2026, is a 100-mark computer-based test covering AI, Machine Learning, Data Structures, and Probability.

It may be recalled that a web tool developed by these students was inaugurated by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis last December.

TDD Maharashtra helps approximately 6.02 lakh students through 497 government ashram schools, 553 aided schools, 37 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) 143 Namit Schools aimed at improving educational standards and specialized schools which provide 365-day schooling to prevent dropouts and ensure continuous learning.

These schools run 12 hours every day, providing two meals to the students. There are no weekends, or public holidays. The teachers and students commute long distances daily, many from as far away as 22 km. Most schools continue to endure water scarcity and frequent electricity outages.

Key initiatives include free residential education, free lodging, boarding,and uniforms, competitive exam training (NEET, JEE), and scholarships resulting in students from remote villages (e.g.,Gadchiroli/Melghat) securing medical seats.

The Tribal Research and Training Institute (TRTI) provides training for Judicial and Engineering services exams.