Hyderabad – A key meeting between the Central education authorities and the Telangana State Education Department focused on reviewing the state’s Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) for 2025-26 under the Samagra Shiksha program. The Central officials raised serious concerns over the growing number of students shifting from government schools to private institutions.
Out of 42,901 schools in Telangana, around 30,022 (70%) are run by the government, while about 12,126 (28.26%) are private unaided schools. Despite this, only 38.11% of students—roughly 27.8 lakh—are enrolled in government schools. In contrast, private unaided schools have a much higher enrollment of 44.31 lakh students, making up 60.75%.
Officials highlighted that this shift has been consistent over the years, especially after 2021-22, when COVID-19 temporarily impacted private school enrollment. The Union Secretary for School Education & Literacy expressed concern that even with significant government investment, public school enrollment continues to fall. Telangana is now expected to investigate the root causes and take corrective steps.
While there has been some improvement in the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrollment Ratio (NER) for Primary to Secondary levels in 2023-24, both numbers remain low at the Higher Secondary level. The state was advised to analyze district-level data and bridge the gaps, especially for students transitioning into higher classes.
Another worry is the dropout rate. Though dropout rates improved in 2023-24, the number of students moving from Secondary to Senior Secondary fell by 5 percentage points. To tackle this, officials suggested upgrading schools that currently go only up to Class 10, extending them to Class 12.
The issue of small schools and single-teacher schools also came up. There’s been an increase in schools with no student enrollment, and more schools now have fewer than 15 or 30 students. The government was asked to conduct a district-wise review and consider merging or rationalizing these schools for better resource use.
The Gross Access Ratio (GAR) at Primary and Upper Primary levels stands at 98.34% and 91.84%, respectively. However, this drops sharply to 64.23% at the Senior Secondary level. The state needs to improve access to education at higher levels.
Only 1% of total students in the state are identified as Children with Special Needs (CwSN). Their representation from pre-primary to Class 4 remains below 1%. Officials urged Telangana to support these children throughout their schooling, starting from Class 1 through Class 12.
In Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) like SCERT and DIETs, vacancies have reduced slightly in 2024-25, but over 50% of positions in DIETs are still unfilled. The state was asked to urgently address teacher shortages, both in schools and TEIs.
Of the 38 schools approved under the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalaya (NSCBAV) scheme, five are still not operational. The state must either make these schools functional or request to surrender them.
Another setback is the slow progress in setting up ICT labs, smart classrooms, and skill education labs. The state was urged to speed up work in these areas and align training with updated job market demands.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Telangana used between 69% and 92.33% of the education funds it received. The Centre urged the state to aim for 100% utilization by focusing on pending infrastructure projects and making full use of non-recurring grants.
The meeting ended with a clear message—Telangana must take stronger action to improve access, reduce dropouts, support special needs students, and make better use of available funds to strengthen its public education system.
