Telangana Plans Major Education Push with Higher Budget and Nursery to Class XII Reform

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday unveiled an ambitious roadmap to strengthen Telangana’s government education system, announcing plans to gradually increase education spending to 15 percent of the state Budget. He said the government wants Telangana to emerge as the leading state in public education across the country.

Speaking during the inauguration of Education Week under Praja Palana Pragati Pranalika, the Chief Minister described education spending as an investment in future generations rather than an expense. Along with the announcement, the state launched school infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,700 crore in the CURE region and honoured meritorious students and teachers from government institutions.

Revanth Reddy said the government currently allocates nearly 8 percent of the Budget to education and intends to raise the share every year until it reaches 15 percent. He stressed that government schools must compete directly with private institutions and produce top performing students capable of securing excellent results.

The Chief Minister also announced that from this academic year, Telangana government schools will provide education from nursery to Class XII. He said the move was aimed at reducing student dropouts after Class X and encouraging families to remain within the government education system from the early years of schooling.

Highlighting the strength of Telangana’s education network, he said the state has nearly 27,000 government schools with around 19 lakh students and more than 1.05 lakh teachers. In comparison, around 38 lakh students study in nearly 12,000 private schools across the state.

Revanth Reddy pointed out that Telangana has a teacher student ratio of one teacher for every 17 students, far better than the National Education Policy norm of one teacher for every 30 students. He said the government recruited more than 11,000 teachers within 60 days, promoted 22,000 teachers and completed transfers for 36,000 teachers without controversy.

The Chief Minister also announced plans to strengthen student nutrition in government schools. Students will receive protein rich breakfast, lunch, milk and ragi java as part of expanded welfare measures. Referring to a successful breakfast pilot programme in Kodangal, he said the initiative would soon be extended to more schools.

Calling for long term reforms, Revanth Reddy asked officials to design a Telangana education policy that could become a model for other states. He also encouraged the identification of outstanding teachers and proposed sending hundreds of teachers abroad every year to study international education systems. Recently, a group of government teachers visited Finland to understand advanced school practices.

The Chief Minister warned suppliers against compromising on the quality of educational materials distributed to students. Telangana is spending nearly Rs 1,000 crore this year on uniforms, shoes, bags, notebooks and related items for schoolchildren.

Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said public perception towards government education and healthcare must improve, while IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu stated that a stronger education system would be essential for Telangana’s long term economic growth ambitions.