HYDERABAD: The Telangana government’s decision to introduce pre-primary sections in 2,769 government and local body schools from the 2026-27 academic year aims to revolutionise early childhood education. Issued by the School Education department on May 26, the directive covers 529 urban and 2,240 non-urban institutions to bolster enrolment, foundational literacy and numeracy.

However, the ambitious plan has drawn sharp concern from teacher unions and education experts over the lack of a clear strategy for recruiting qualified pre-primary teachers and supporting staff.

Under the state guidelines, district administrations must remodel existing setups into child-friendly spaces. The policy mandates classroom improvements, Building as Learning Aid (BALA) designs, toy corners, reading zones, and age-appropriate teaching-learning kits. Furthermore, officials have been instructed to engage pre-primary instructors and ayahs strictly on a fixed honorarium basis.

While welcoming the intervention, several teachers’ unions argue that the selective rollout limits its potential. They contend that the initiative must be expanded widely across the state sector to trigger a meaningful, competitive shift in public school enrolments.

The primary critique centres on specialised training. M. Ravinder, additional general secretary of the Telangana Progressive Teachers Federation (TPTF), emphasised that preschool pedagogy demands specific expertise in child psychology, play-based modules, and early development assessments. Without a dedicated cadre of permanent, trained staff, teachers fear the department will dump the extra workload onto existing primary school teachers, diminishing instructional quality at both levels.

Compounding the problem is the logistical challenge of classroom management. Young children entering formal nursery setups require close, physical assistance with basic hygiene, safety, and routine behaviour. Chava Ravi, president of the Telangana United Teachers Federation (TSUTF), echoed these structural worries, warning that running pre-primary units without permanent, institutionalised support staff will overwhelm ducators and destabilise the foundational learning environment.

This story is reported by Meghna Nath