Visakhapatnam is considered a centre for education in the state of Andhra Pradesh. There are several primary, high school and college level institutions in the city. Apart from state-run schools for the poor, there are many private institutions, missionary schools and colleges. Established in 1878, A.V.N. College is one of the city's oldest educational institutions. is also the home of Andhra University which was established in 1926. Sarvepalli Radha Krishna, before he became the President of India, worked as the Vice Chancellor of the University between 1931 and 1936. The University and its affiliated colleges provide education to thousands of students from the entire state. Post Graduate and Graduate courses are offered in various branches like Arts, Commerce, Science & Technology, Engineering, IT, Business Management, Law and Pharmacy. The AU college of Pharmacy is the second oldest pharmacology institute in India. The university is in the process of obtaining IIEST status and there is also a proposal for setting up an IIM at Visakhapatnam. Other institutions of higher education include Andhra Medical College, established in 1902 and the home of various teaching hospitals, A.V.N. College, one of the city's oldest educational institutions, the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM), which recently attained the status of an autonomous university, Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering, and the Pydah College of Engineering and Technology.
St. Aloysius Anglo Indian High School is the oldest school in the district and one of the oldest schools in the country. It was established in 1847 and is located in the old town region. Pollocks School, Kotak Salesian School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, S.F.S, Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir (situated in Dwarakanagar), Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Siva Sivani, Little Angels, Timpany and Visakha valley are other schools in the area. The city has around 10 Kendriya Vidyalaya's with total student strength of 18000. Timpany School, Visakha Valley School rank amongst the top schools in Andhra Pradesh. School has three branches - one affiliated to ICSE and the other two to CBSE. Visakha Valley and Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir are affiliated to CBSE.
The International Science Congress (I.S.C.) was hosted by Andhra University in 1976 and again in 2008. It is the largest congregation of scientists from different disciplines in the world. Over 8000 people participated in the I.S.C. in 2008, including prominent Nobel Prize winners from around the world.
