Tirupati District Government Schools Achieve 96.60% Enrolment in Class I

Tirupati: It had been expected that 2026–27 school admission season will as usual go overwhelmingly in favour of private and corporate schools. But reality has turned out to be different. Government schools across Tirupati district have enrolled 13,197 children in Class I against the target of 13,562, achieving 96.60 per cent success. The performance puts Tirupati among the highest performing districts in the state when it comes to admissions in government schools.

District education department officials attribute this surge to a combination of grassroots-level campaigning and changing perceptions among parents. Improved infrastructure, digital classrooms, English-medium instruction, free textbooks, uniforms, midday meals, and other welfare measures have encouraged more families to consider government schools for their children's primary education.

Even before beginning the enrolment, School Education department proactively identified that 24,658 children in Tirupati district have completed five years of age across all mandals. Authorities, led by District Education Officer K.V.N. Kumar then launched the “Badi Pilusthondi” campaign across all 36 mandals over 36 days.

Mandal education officers, headmasters and teachers went door to door, interacting with parents and highlighting the academic standards, infrastructure, and facilities available for students in the government schools. Even public representatives joined the “Badi Pilusthondi” campaign across their constituencies.

DEO Kumar said the department's focus had not been merely on meeting admission targets, but building public confidence in government schools. "Our teams visited every locality and ensured that no eligible child remains out of school. More importantly, we encouraged parents to see for themselves the transformation that has taken place in government schools. 96.60 per cent enrolment shows more families have placed their trust in government schools," the DEO stated.

Significantly, to attract students and parents to government schools, the School Education department went on to organise cultural programmes, processions, and awareness campaigns across all assembly constituencies. The DEO personally led several awareness programmes, addressing parents at busy junctions and public places, urging them to enrol their children in government schools. The department went on to felicitate government school students who had excelled in the Class X public examinations. Department and school staff encouraged parents to visit the government school nearest to them before putting their children into a school.

With the Class I enrolment drive nearing its final phase, DEO Kumar said their next challenge would be to ensure that children attend school regularly and receive quality education. "Admissions are only the beginning. Our next priority is to make parents realise that their children are getting education of good quality," he added.