The Telangana government has decided to introduce Upper Kindergarten (UKG) classes in its government schools starting the 2026-27 academic year.

Under this plan, approximately 4,900 schools will incorporate UKG sections, with the recruitment of around 9,800 new teachers to support the expansion.

The move aligns with earlier efforts announced by the state to establish pre-primary education (Nursery, Lower KG and UKG) in public schools, in response to the foundational-stage reforms of the National Education Policy 2020, Sakshi Post reports.

The state government had already implemented UKG lessons in 1,000 government schools as part of a pilot program, which yielded promising results in terms of increasing children's learning ability, communication, and social development. Encouraged by the favourable results, the administration has decided to expand the initiative statewide.

Officials say that the initiative aims to strengthen early-childhood education infrastructure within government schools and reduce dependence on private pre-schools. 

The state’s Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy, who also oversees the state’s education department, has instructed officials that comprehensive facility upgrades be ready for implementation from the 2026-27 year.

Officials stated that teachers will receive tailored training modules to foster a play-based, child-centric learning approach. The curriculum is going to promote creativity, social interaction, and basic literacy and numeracy abilities.