School closure plan violates Right to Education, say TSEC
HYDERABAD: Educators, intellectuals, student union and political leaders gathered at the Press Club in Somajiguda on Saturday. They demanded that the Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy immediately withdraw his announcement about closing schools. The group warned that this violates the Constitution and the Right to Education Act.
The Telangana Save Education Committee(TSEC) organised a round-table meeting. Participants widely condemned the Chief Minister’s statement in Bengaluru. He proposed consolidating 27,000 schools down to just 4,000.
Speaking on the issue, Prof. K. Chakradhara Rao, President of the Telangana Save Education Committee(TSEC), led the meeting. He strongly condemned the announcement and called for its immediate withdrawal. “The Chief Minister must retract this statement immediately,” he said. He also demanded that the government allocate 20% of the state budget to education, develop all government schools, and guarantee quality, equitable, and free education for everyone.
Moreover, Prof. G. Haragopal, General Secretary of the Committee, called the Chief Minister’s announcement deeply unfortunate. He emphasized that every village needs a government school to build a humane society.
Continuing, in his keynote address, Prof. K. Lakshminarayana, Executive Secretary TSEC, revealed their action plan. Between June 20 and July 15, 2026, the group will submit memorandam to all public representatives in the state. They will also hold round-table meetings in every district to build opposition to the proposed closures.
Meanwhile, MLC Prof. Kodandaram voiced his support. He said the government’s move to close schools was inappropriate and urged the Chief Minister to reconsider.
On a related note, Prof. Madabhushi Sridhar argued that closing 23,000 schools would violate the Constitution and the Right to Education Act, 2009. He said, “The situation now demands a struggle to protect the Constitution alongside the protection of education”. He called the issue a fundamental rights crisis, not simply a policy disagreement.
Further, Prof. D. Narasimha Reddy criticized the government’s urban development plans. He said the focus should be on shaping future citizens, not only building a Future City. He accused the Chief Minister, who controls the Education Department, of unilaterally announcing the closures. He called the move undesirable and urged people to fight for education.
