Amaravati, August 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday accused the Chandrababu Naidu-led government of weakening the state’s government education system to benefit private educational institutions, disputing its claims of rising enrolment in government schools.
Citing data from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) for 2025-26, Jagan said government school enrolment had declined significantly compared with 2023-24, the final year of the YSRCP government.
He said government school enrolment fell from 40,50,116 students in 2023-24 to 34,93,450 in 2025-26 — a decline of 5,56,666. During the same period, the number of government schools declined from 45,000 to 44,222, while government-aided schools fell from 991 to 797.
In contrast, enrolment in privately managed schools increased from 45,53,380 to 48,40,296, he said.
Jagan disputed the coalition government’s claim that more than 1.10 lakh students had shifted from private schools to government schools, arguing that such an influx should have resulted in an overall increase in government-school enrolment.
“If government schools were indeed witnessing such a large influx of students, the overall enrolment in government schools should have increased,” he said in a social media post.
Jagan alleged that private education in Andhra Pradesh was dominated by institutions including Narayana, Sri Chaitanya, Bhashyam, Vignan and GITAM, and accused the Naidu government of having an “unholy association” with such institutions. He said the trend could make quality education increasingly inaccessible to children whose families cannot afford private schooling.
He also highlighted education initiatives undertaken by the YSRCP government between 2019 and 2024, claiming they had substantially improved access and infrastructure.
According to Jagan, the Mana Badi–Nadu Nedu programme upgraded infrastructure in 56,703 government schools, welfare hostels and junior colleges. Phase I covered 15,715 schools, while Phase II extended the improvements to 22,344 schools, with Phase III underway by June 2024.
He also cited free tablets pre-loaded with BYJU’S content for Class 8 students and teachers, the introduction of English as the medium of instruction from the primary level, bilingual textbooks and Oxford dictionaries.
Other measures he listed included 62,000 interactive flat panels for classrooms from Class 6 onwards, 45,000 smart TVs for schools with Classes 1 to 5, and the introduction of TOEFL-related instruction from Class 3 to strengthen spoken English skills. An MoU had been signed with Educational Testing Service (ETS) for international TOEFL certification, he said.
Jagan further said preparations had begun to introduce the International Baccalaureate (IB) system, including training and capacity-building for teachers, school heads, Mandal Education Officers and other faculty.
FOLLOW NOW
