Telangana Government School Enrolments Drop by Over 1.25 Lakh in 2025-26

Hyderabad: Enrolment across government and local body schools in Telangana dropped by more than 1.25 lakh students during the 2025-26 academic year, according to data released by the State Education Department.

The department's statistics show that 17,414 out of 23,198 government and local body schools in the state—representing 75 per cent of such institutions—recorded 100 or fewer student admissions.

Total admissions across the state fell to 14,49,608 in 2025-26, down from 15,75,209 in 2024-25. Primary school enrolments dropped from 9,77,864 in 2024-25 to 9,03,556 in 2025-26. Upper primary school admissions also decreased from 5,97,345 to 5,24,124 over the same timeframe.

The findings highlight significant enrolment deficits across smaller schools. A total of 7,629 schools had between 1 and 30 students, including 7,469 elementary schools and 160 secondary schools. Another 9,785 schools recorded between 31 and 100 admissions, comprising 7,959 elementary and 1,826 secondary institutions. In total, 15,428 out of the state's 17,702 elementary schools had fewer than 100 students.

Only six per cent of schools recorded higher student counts. Just 1,469 schools registered between 251 and 1,000 students, while only 28 schools across the state enrolled more than 1,000 students.

The decline in enrolment has been attributed to parents losing confidence in the public education system and choosing private schools, alongside inconsistent classroom teaching patterns. Teachers have also pointed to infrastructural gaps, the lack of one teacher per class, insufficient resources, and inadequate supervision.

Additionally, teachers have expressed concern over classroom teaching being sidelined due to government assignments involving administrative tasks and regular training activities.

The department's statistics run contrary to claims made by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who also holds the Education portfolio, that school enrolments had increased during the 2025-26 academic year.