Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said nursery, LKG and UKG classes will be introduced in govt schools from the 2026-27 academic year, on the lines of private and corporate institutions. Speaking at the inauguration of a school established by BJP MLC AVN Reddy in Ibrahimpatnam, the CM said that due to the absence of nursery to UKG classes in govt schools, even labourers were compelled to sending their children to private schools from the nursery level.“I don’t think any student will return to a govt school after spending the first three years in a private institution. Education in govt schools currently begins from class I. The govt will provide quality education from the nursery level itself, along with nutritious breakfast and lunch,” he said.Stating that the govt spends an average of Rs 1.08 lakh per student, which could be higher than what many private schools are charging per student, and that nearly Rs 25,000 crore has been allocated to education in the budget, Revanth said that despite this, the enrolment in 26,000 govt schools stands at 18 lakh, compared to 33 lakh students in just 11,000 private schools.“This is a failure of the govt. The lack of quality education is the main reason. As per a survey, only 6.7% of class 6 students in govt schools are able to properly study their textbooks, while nearly 93% are unable to read even class-3 textbooks effectively,” he said.Revanth also announced that education from nursery to Class 12 will soon be offered in 100 Young India Integrated Residential Schools, one in each assembly constituency. On an experimental basis, students from schools where the number of teachers exceeds the number of students, or where the teacher-student is not equal, will be shifted to these residential schools. Such schools will be rationalised to ensure an appropriate teacher-student ratio, with a target of 30 students per class, he added.The govt is preparing to tackle the ‘tsunami’ caused by AI by focusing on quality education and skill training. This, he said, would help create a strong blue-collar workforce as an alternative to white-collar jobs that are feared to be lost in lakhs due to AI.Union minister G Kishan Reddy appealed to the people of Telangana not to send their children abroad for education by selling their properties and ding up in financial trouble. “The govt of India is establishing a medical college in every district, and the number of PG seats are being increased. Efforts are underway to build high-quality, globally reputed educational institutions within the country. Another approach is bring the world’s best educational institutions to India so that students can access quality education here itself, and the central govt is working towards this goal. There is a need for reforms in the education system to attract more foreign students to India,” he said.
