Education in Telangana: Not a Right, but an Organized Exploitation

 

T.Chiranjeevulu  IAS (Ret), Founder President BCIF (BC Intellectuals Forum)

Telangana is not merely a geographical region. It is a historic aspiration realized through the sacrifices of countless martyrs and the hopes, dreams, and self-respect of millions of people. During the Telangana movement, promises were made to build a “Social Telangana” that would provide education, employment, and a dignified life to every poor family. The slogan “Free Education from KG to PG” generated immense hope among the people.

However, twelve years after the formation of Telangana, the reality tells a different story. Instead of a socially inclusive Telangana, what has emerged is a Telangana increasingly driven by privatization. Particularly in the education sector, the government's responsibility has gradually diminished while the dominance of private institutions has expanded. As a result, education has ceased to be a right and has become a commodity that must be purchased.

According to UDISE statistics for 2014–15, Telangana had 43,839 schools, of which 28,822 (65.74%) were government schools, while 14,438 (32.93%) were private schools. By 2026, the share of government schools had fallen to 60.89 percent, reflecting a significant decline in public confidence in the government education system.

An even more alarming trend is visible in student enrollment. In 2014–15, 46.49 percent of students studying in Classes 1 to 8 were enrolled in government schools. Today, that figure has dropped to around 28 percent. This clearly indicates a massive migration of students from government schools to private institutions after the formation of Telangana.

Governments often highlight the expansion of residential schools as a major achievement. Indeed, the number of residential schools increased from 296 to 1,004, and student enrollment rose from 1.4 lakh to 5.5 lakh. However, compared to the total student population in the state, this benefits only a limited section. Millions of other students continue to bear the burden of exorbitant fees and the commercialization of education.

Why Does Telangana Still Not Have a Fee Regulation Law?

A crucial question remains unanswered: Why does Telangana not have an effective law to regulate the fees charged by private schools, junior colleges, and corporate educational institutions?

During the united Andhra Pradesh era, the Andhra Pradesh Education Act, 1982 regulated aspects such as registration, recognition, and administration of private educational institutions. In 1983, the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Prohibition of Capitation Fee) Act was introduced to curb capitation fees.

Subsequently, Government Order (GO) No. 1 of 1994 allowed governing bodies of private schools to determine fees based on their expenditures. However, as private and corporate educational institutions expanded rapidly during the 1990s, fee regulation became virtually non-existent.

To address this issue, GO 91 (2009) proposed the establishment of District Fee Regulatory Committees (DFRCs), requiring schools to obtain approval before implementing fee structures. Private school managements challenged these provisions in court. Although courts acknowledged the need for fee regulation, certain provisions of the GO were questioned. Instead of rectifying those shortcomings and introducing a revised framework, governments failed to pursue the matter seriously.

After Telangana's formation, little changed. In 2017, the Tirupati Rao Committee recommended the establishment of District Fee Regulation Committees and suggested that annual fee hikes be capped at 10 percent. Yet its recommendations were never implemented.

A Cabinet Sub-Committee was formed in 2018, but its report was never made public. During the COVID-19 pandemic, GO 46 directed institutions to collect only tuition fees and in installments, but implementation remained weak. More recently, the State Education Commission submitted a report on fee regulation in March 2025, and another committee headed by Keshav Rao was constituted. Yet Telangana still lacks a comprehensive Fee Regulation Act.

This raises fundamental questions:

• Why has a fee regulation law not been enacted despite decades of discussion?
• Are private and corporate educational institutions exerting undue influence on governments?
• Does demanding fee regulation amount to opposing private education?
• Is a transparent fee structure not necessary to ensure access to quality education?
• How long will families continue to fall into debt to educate their children?

No one denies the role of private institutions in providing quality education. However, society must decide whether education is a public service or merely a profit-making business. Many parents are so overwhelmed by educational expenses that some even hesitate to have children. Family planning programme succeeded because of these fees.

Education is a constitutional right, not a luxury available only to the privileged. Leaving education entirely to market forces without effective regulation only increases the burden on middle-class and poor families.

The Failure to Implement the Right to Education Act

One of the most important educational reforms in independent India is the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. Its objective is to overcome social and economic inequalities and provide quality education to every child. The law embodies the principle that the child of a poor laborer and the child of the Prime Minister should be able to study side by side in the same classroom.

Section 12(1)(C) of the Act mandates that private and corporate schools reserve 25 percent of entry-level seats for children from economically weaker and disadvantaged sections. The expenditure is shared by the Central and State Governments in a 60:40 ratio.

While 22 states across India have implemented this provision, Telangana has failed to do so. The Act was enacted under a Congress-led Central Government in 2009, and Andhra Pradesh was also governed by Congress at that time. Yet implementation never occurred. Even after Telangana was formed, successive governments promised implementation, but those promises remained unfulfilled.

Since  Dec 2023, Telangana has once again been governed by Congress. Yet even now, the state has not implemented this critical provision. This raises important questions:

• Why is a law implemented in other states not being implemented in Telangana?
• Why are poor children being denied access to quality private education?
• Why have repeated assurances and court affidavits failed to translate into action?

As a result, lakhs of poor students continue to lose opportunities that are legally guaranteed to them.

This is not merely an educational issue; it is a matter of social justice, equal opportunity, and constitutional rights.

Telangana's Low Investment in Education

Telangana is among the states that invest the least in education. The state ranks among the bottom three in literacy and faces significant challenges in educational quality. Under such circumstances, one would expect substantial public investment in education.

However, while lakhs of crores are spent on irrigation, power, and transportation, education remains neglected.

In the 2026–27 Telangana Budget, only ₹26,674 crore out of a total budget of ₹3.24 lakh crore was allocated to education—just 8.2 percent of total expenditure.

A comparison with other states is revealing:

• Bihar: 19.63%
• Delhi: 18.64%.
• Madhya Pradesh: 13.7%.
• Maharashtra: 13.1%.
• Andhra Pradesh:  11.7%.
• Karnataka: 10.7%.

 

India's average educational expenditure ranges between 14 and 15 percent. Telangana, despite presenting itself as a prosperous state, spends among the lowest proportions on education.

If governments truly aspire to transform Telangana into a knowledge economy and a trillion-dollar economy, how can they justify allocating only 8.2 percent of the budget to education? Sustainable development is impossible without substantial investment in education.

Rapid Privatization of Education

One of the most significant changes in Telangana since statehood has been the rapid privatization of education.

In 2018, the Telangana government enacted legislation allowing private universities. During the Telangana movement, people rallied around the slogan of “Water, Funds, and Employment.” They dreamed of a socially just Telangana. However, opening the doors to private universities represented a departure from those aspirations.

Within eight years of the legislation, nearly 20 private universities emerged in the state, compared to only 19 public universities.Most of them belong to dominant ruling caste people only.

A particularly troubling aspect is the absence of social justice in recruitment within many private universities. Reservations for SCs, STs, and BCs are generally not implemented. While the Telangana movement emphasized employment opportunities, thousands of jobs are effectively being placed outside the reservation framework.

At the same time, nearly twelve years after statehood, regular faculty recruitment in public universities remains inadequate. Many institutions continue to function with ad hoc, contractual, and guest faculty members. Without qualified teachers and professors, how can world-class education be achieved?

The government must explain how many vacancies exist in institutions such as Osmania University and when they will be filled.

Medical and Engineering Education: Increasingly Out of Reach

Privatization is equally visible in medical and engineering education.

Although Telangana has 35 government medical colleges and 19 private medical colleges, nearly 4,200 out of approximately 8,415 medical seats are in the private sector. Engineering education is also dominated by private institutions.

Fees in these sectors have reached levels beyond the reach of ordinary families.

Education in Telangana has increasingly become a business rather than a right. From schools to universities, an industry worth thousands of crores has emerged, with parents ultimately bearing the financial burden.

While states like Tamil Nadu have had fee regulation mechanisms since 2008, Telangana continues to allow many institutions to charge exorbitant fees. This raises a fundamental question: Is education a service, or an unregulated commercial enterprise?

Key Demands

1. Increase educational spending to at least 15 percent of the state budget, in line with election promises.
2. Strengthen infrastructure in government schools and colleges, not on integrated young india schools with a cost of Rs 200 cr each for the benefit of contractors and commissions.
3. Immediately enact a comprehensive Fee Regulation Act.
4. Implement Section 12(1)(C) of the Right to Education Act and reserve 25 percent of seats in private schools for poor children.
5. Fill all vacant teaching and non-teaching posts in universities without delay.
6. Establish policies that ensure transparency, accountability, and social justice in private educational institutions.

Education is not an expenditure; it is an investment in society's future. A well-educated society becomes stronger economically, socially, and politically. But if education is transformed into a business and public responsibility is transferred to private interests, inequality will only deepen.

Therefore, the people of Telangana must reclaim education as a fundamental right.

The successful protest organized at Indira Park against issues such as the NEET paper leak demonstrates the power of Gen Z.  The  Gen Z youth of Telangana must now also raise their voices against the ongoing commercialization and exploitation of education in the state. Meaningful educational reform can only be achieved through sustained public pressure. Protecting education means protecting the future of Telangana.