HYDERABAD: Telangana’s school education system is at a “critical turning point”, with the latest NITI Aayog report flagging concerns over learning quality, student retention and widening digital gaps, particularly in rural areas.
The report, “School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement”, states that the state’s education challenge has moved beyond ensuring school access and now centres on improving learning outcomes, reducing dropouts, strengthening digital readiness and preparing students for future employment needs.
One of the key trends identified is the steady migration of students from government schools to private institutions, especially in urban and semi-urban districts around Hyderabad. Parents are increasingly opting for private schools due to perceptions of better English-medium instruction, stricter academic monitoring, improved discipline, competitive exam preparation and stronger digital infrastructure.
Despite the Telangana government introducing English-medium education and upgrading infrastructure in government schools, enrolment stability has not improved substantially, the assessment noted.
The report identifies dropout rates after upper primary education as a major challenge, particularly during the transition from Class 8 to secondary education. Telangana has around 2,245 schools with zero enrolment and 5,001 single-teacher schools catering to 62,288 students. The secondary-level dropout rate stands at 13.3%, indicating that many students do not continue into Classes XI and XII.
Rural Telangana faces digital divide
While schools in Hyderabad and surrounding districts have increasingly adopted smart classrooms and blended learning systems, rural areas continue to lag in digital readiness.
Poor internet connectivity, limited smart classrooms, lack of student devices and difficulties in adapting to digital tools remain major obstacles to technology-enabled learning in rural Telangana, the report noted.
It also flagged uneven teacher deployment, administrative burden on staff, shortages of specialised subject teachers and limited professional training opportunities. Several schools continue to lack laboratories, libraries, sports infrastructure, digital classrooms and facilities for Children with Special Needs (CwSN).
Despite these challenges, the assessment identifies Telangana as one of the states with the potential to lead future education reforms focused on employability, digital competence and skill development.
It warned that educational inequality could deepen unless systemic reforms are implemented quickly, but added that Telangana could still emerge as a national model for inclusive and technology-driven public education.
Devil is in the details
Schools with zero enrolment: 2,245
Single-teacher schools: 5,001
Students in single-teacher schools: 62,288
Smart classrooms: 63%
Secondary-level dropout rate: 13.3%
Critical transition stage: After Class 8
CwSN-friendly toilets: 2.7%
This story is reported by Meghna Nath
