Fix The Date & Time, I am Ready: Lokesh to Jagan for Mega DSC Debate

Amaravati: Clearing all unproved allegations and rumors spread by YSRC against the Mega DSC 2025, HRD & IT Minister Nara Lokesh came down heavily on the opposition in Assembly and challenged the YSRC chief Jagan to a debate the issue in the assembly if he dared to.

In a stern response to Jagan’s comments on the Mega DSC process, Minister Nara Lokesh said, “Fix the date and time. I am ready to debate, inside the Assembly or outside. I am not running away. Come to the House and let us discuss this.” This is the fourth time when Minister Nara Lokesh has sought a debate on the issue.

Giving a clear rebuttal and one-on-one explanation to all misleading allegations against Mega DSC 2025 in the Assembly, Minister Lokesh said the recruitment was conducted transparently, following the Central norms, Supreme Court directions and prescribed vertical and horizontal reservation norms. He said the NDA government had placed all details of the recruitment process, including facts and clarifications on the allegations, before the House.

1. Fastest DSC recruitment across the country: 16,347 teacher posts filled in 148 days

Stating that the NDA govt had given the first priority to conduct the DSC after coming to power, Minister Lokesh highlighted that the NDA government rightly stood by its election promise by conducting the DSC recruitment within 148 days ~ fastest in the country.

He explained that the DSC 2025 was notified for 16,347 teacher posts, with 3,36,300 candidates submitting 5,77,675 applications. The entire recruitment process was completed in 148 days, despite 336 court cases being filed. Examinations were conducted through the secured TCS iON platform at 154 centres in Andhra Pradesh and 19 centres outside the state, with 87.8% of candidates receiving centres according to their first preference. A total of 89 test sessions covering 13 subjects and 67 types of posts were completed in 24 days.

He said a question bank of 42,000 questions was prepared by SCERT subject experts under a confidential process, with questions randomised so candidates received different papers and question sequences.

CCTV, physical security and cyber-security measures were put in place at examination centres. The process included online applications, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication, online fee payment, examination, score disclosure, normalisation, certificate verification, reservation, grievance redressal, final selection and appointments.

Further, Minister Lokesh said 15,941 teachers were given appointment orders at a programme held under Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. A dedicated grievance mechanism was established, through which around 33,840 grievances were received and addressed, with only 36 reaching the final appellate authority. Candidates were informed of their scores and selection status through SMS, while merit and final selection lists were made available online.

2. No DSC, no teacher recruitment under YSRC

The IT Minister also recalled that the YSRC government had not conducted a single DSC or teacher recruitment drive between 2019 and 2024, while around 12 lakh students moved from government schools to private schools during the same period. He said TD governments had recruited around 1.80 lakh teachers since the DSC system was introduced in 1994, besides introducing 33% reservation for women in DSC and a transparent counselling system for teacher transfers.

He said the coalition government had made teacher recruitment a priority and had expanded the One Class-ruOne Teacher system from just around 3-4% of schools when it assumed office to around 33%, covering nearly 10,000 schools.

He contrasted the government’s decision to send teachers to Singapore and Finland for training with the previous government allegedly deploying teachers outside liquor shops, and said GO 117 had severely damaged government schools.

3. Mega DSC promise was made after observing hardships during Yuva Galam

Lokesh said the idea of the Mega DSC emerged during his Yuva Galam padayatra after he met agricultural workers from Alur, Adoni and Mantralayam who were migrating with their children to Guntur for work. They told him that their government schools lacked teachers and children were unable to study properly. He said he then decided to ensure adequate teacher recruitment for Kurnool, with around 10% of teachers selected through Mega DSC being allocated to the district. Further recruitment would be taken up for Kurnool in the next DSC as well.

4. No paper leak; allegations are baseless

Responding to allegations of a question paper leak, Lokesh said there was no role for outsourced employees in question paper setting. The 42,000 questions were prepared by SCERT subject experts, uploaded through a controlled mechanism and randomly generated for candidates. He said an outsourced employee being accused in the matter had no role in question paper preparation, and his login was removed because he had not obtained the required departmental NOC. Though he received a call letter, he did not attend certificate verification and was automatically disqualified.

5. 100% Transparency was assured at every-step of recruitment

On allegations of lack of transparency, Lokesh said candidates received SMS notifications, had online login access and could view their marks and merit status. District merit lists were also made available through the DEO system. He said the government released the initial answer key after the examination, invited feedback, had objections examined by subject experts and published the final key in the public domain. Scores were then scientifically normalised and district-wise merit lists published.

Lokesh said 141 cases were filed in just 148 days by YSRC leaders and others, allegedly with the objective of stopping the DSC and preventing implementation of the Chief Minister’s first-signature promise. He said past failed notifications were analysed using AI to identify legal shortcomings and a model notification was prepared, enabling the government to withstand legal scrutiny. “Despite the cases, we completed the DSC, issued offer letters, trained the selected teachers and placed them in schools,” he said.

6. Sports quota was also completely transparent

The HRD minister further explained that the government adopted 65 sports disciplines recognised by the Centre, compared to 29 earlier, in line with the policy of promoting sports and encouraging young people to pursue sports professionally. He said sports candidates were selected only after multi-stage certificate verification conducted by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh over nearly a month.

Rejecting allegations that sports quota jobs were given to favoured candidates, Lokesh challenged those making the claims to produce evidence. He said allegations that 372 selected candidates belonged to one social group were false, giving the actual break-up as 46 OC, 185 BC, 112 SC and 29 ST candidates. He said detailed sub-caste data was also available and all Central government guidelines had been followed.

On an audio recording alleging money was being collected for sports quota certificates, Lokesh said the government acted immediately, lodged a complaint with the Sports Authority Commissioner in Vijayawada and ensured that the accused was sent to judicial remand. He said anyone found guilty would face action and the case would be taken to its logical conclusion.

7. We will conduct DSC every year

Lokesh said the coalition government would conduct DSC every year, with another notification for around 3,000 teacher posts to be issued this year. He said the government was also working to fill 10,060 posts through the Mega Job Calendar, including Group-1, Group-2 and DSC vacancies. With TET recently completed, he said the government would ensure that new teachers are sent to schools before the next academic year, within Ugadi.

He said the government’s focus was on merit, social justice and transparency and assured the state’s youth that recruitment would continue without compromising the integrity of the process. He urged candidates who could not secure opportunities in the recent examinations to prepare for the next opportunity, saying the government was open to suggestions to further improve the system.

Lokesh said the coalition government was also investing in teachers by sending the best teachers to Singapore and Finland for training and involving teachers in cluster-level consultations. He said the goal was to make Andhra Pradesh’s education system the best in the country. Reiterating his challenge to the YSRCP chief, he said, “Come to the House. Fix the date and time. I am ready for the debate.”