Telangana to Double Education Budget to 15%; CM Revanth Reddy Launches Nursery-to-XII Model

“The expenditure incurred on education should be considered as a productive investment in future generations. Our goal is to place Telangana as the number one state in the country in education in the government sector,” said Revanth Reddy while inaugurating Education Week under Praja Palana — Pragati Pranalika gere. The programme also saw the launch of ₹1,700 crore worth school development works in the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) area, recognition of toppers and teachers from government institutions, and fresh announcements on nutrition schemes, teacher training and school reforms.

Revanth Reddy said the state had allocated around 8 per cent of the budget to education and would increase the share every year until it reached 15 per cent, as recommended by several authorities. He said Telangana has around 27,000 government schools with 19 lakh students and about 1.05 lakh teachers and contrasted this with 12,000 private schools where 38 lakh students study.

The Chief Minister also noted that Telangana had one teacher for every 17 students, while the National Education Policy (NEP) norm stood at one teacher for every 30 students. He said the government recruited more than 11,000 teachers in 60 days, granted promotions to 22,000 teachers and completed transfers of 36,000 teachers without controversy.

“Our goal is to place Telangana as the number one state in the country in education in the government sector,” said Reddy. He told teachers that government schools must compete directly with private institutions and said the state should produce students who secure top results from government campuses rather than corporate colleges.

Reddy linked the proposed nursery-to-Class XII model to dropout rates after Class X. He said children who join private schools during nursery, LKG and UKG often do not move back into the government system later.

“From this academic year, education from nursery to Class XII will be provided in government schools,” he said. The Chief Minister also added that students would receive protein-rich breakfast, lunch, milk and ragi java. He referred to a breakfast pilot project in Kodangal and said the government planned to expand it from the coming academic year. He told officials to treat him as the education minister during review meetings rather than seeing him only as the Chief Minister.

“Telangana should have a new education policy. Shape it in such a way that other states copy the Telangana education policy,” he said while referring to the education commission functioning under former MP K. Keshava Rao.

“Select the best-performing teachers. If necessary, send 500 teachers abroad every year to study the education systems there,” he said referring to the 25 government teachers sent to Finland to study school systems. He also warned suppliers against delivering poor-quality education kits. Telangana is spending around `1,000 crore this year on uniforms, shoes, bags, notebooks and related material for students.

Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said public attitudes towards government education needed to change.

“We all studied in government schools. Today, people want government jobs and government schemes, but there is still a negative attitude towards government education and healthcare,” he said. “If Telangana has to become a three-trillion-dollar economy by 2047, the education system has to be strengthened,” added IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu.