National Education Society for Tribal Students under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched Phase II of the ‘Amazon Future Engineer Programme’ in 54 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), in New Delhi on Monday. The second phase will include an Advanced Block Programming and Artificial Intelligence curriculum. Tribal Affairs Secretary Anil Kumar Jha inaugurated the three-day in-person teachers’ training workshop as well as the EMRS Coders Expo. The expo is an exhibition of the top 20 Coding Projects.
 
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said in a video message that this initiative is a huge step towards ensuring that the succeeding tribal generations become well-equipped to leverage digital opportunities. He added that collaboration between the Amazon Future Engineer programme and NESTS has the potential to bridge the academic gap which exists among tribal communities. He also said that the move will ensure their successful careers in emerging technologies.
 
Addressing the event, the Tribal Affairs Secretary said that India has a tribal population of over 10 crores, who still face language and cultural barriers in accessing modern education. He further stated that bridging these barriers in teaching will go a long way in improving learning outcomes for tribal students. He also pointed out that capacity building of teachers in their local languages, especially for tribal communities in India, will empower them to deliver curriculum in a much-enhanced manner and prepare the tribal students to compete in the technologically advanced world. He further encouraged the EMRS teachers to motivate and energize their students to whole-heartedly participate in the programme and learn the basics of coding and AI.