Telangana education crisis: Civil society urges 20% budget allocation
HYDERABAD: Civil society activists, educationists, and political leaders convened a meeting on Thursday to express serious concerns about the state of education in Telangana and to urge the government to address it as an emergency.
The Round Table Conference organized by M Venkatarangaiya Foundation called for the state to allocate 20% of its budget to education in the 2026-27 financial year, citing ongoing disinvestment. The education budget share has declined from 10.89% in 2014-15 to approximately 7.5% in 2024-25, which is below the national average.
“The continuous decline in funding is not just a statistic, it is a direct attack on the future of our children and our state,” said Prof. Kodandaram, academic and social activist. He recommended that a delegation meet Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, who also holds the Telangana education portfolio, to present these concerns.
The meeting highlighted the consequences of underfunding, including deteriorating infrastructure, teacher shortages, an increase in zero-enrolment and single-teacher schools, and a shift from government to private institutions. “Inadequate funding has resulted in the absence of basic facilities such as toilets for girls in several schools and hostels. This is an inhuman indignity,” stated BSP State President Ibrahim Shekar.
Echoing the manifesto promise of the ruling Congress party, MLC Sravan of the BRS demanded that the government immediately fulfil its commitment to allocate 15% of the budget to education. “A promise made must be a promise kept, especially when it concerns our children’s future,” he asserted.
Manasa, an activist from an adolescent girls’ rights forum, emphasized the need for timely scholarships and free education for girls up to the post-graduate level to ensure access to higher education.
The conference, chaired by R. Venkat Reddy, National Convener of the M.V. Foundation, concluded with a charter of key demands. These include allocating 20% of the state budget to education, providing essential infrastructure such as toilets, drinking water, and classrooms in all government institutions before the next academic year, introducing pre-primary education in all government schools, fully implementing Section 12(1)(c) of the Right to Education Act mandating 25% reservation for disadvantaged children in private schools, formulating a policy to regulate private school fees, and urgently filling vacancies to eliminate single-teacher schools.
The meeting ended with a call for the State Government to take urgent action to prevent further decline of the public education system and to ensure equitable, quality education for all children.
