Hyderabad: Internet access in Telangana schools improved sharply over the past year, driven largely by gains in govt schools, even as the state continues to trail most of its southern neighbours, according to the latest UDISE+ data.The share of schools with internet access rose from 63.3% in 2024-25 to 76.5% in 2025-26. Of the 41,762 schools covered, 31,942 reported having internet access, while 9,820 remained without connectivity.The biggest improvement came among govt schools. Internet availability in the segment rose from 52.9% to 69.3%, a 16.4 percentage-point increase. The number of govt schools with internet access increased from 15,902 to 19,452, even as the total number of govt schools covered by the survey fell from 30,057 to 28,088.Private unaided schools, which already had significantly higher connectivity, saw an increase from 89.3% to 92.1%. Govt-aided schools also recorded a sharp rise, from 44.4% to 69.9%.At 76.5%, Telangana is above the national average of 67.4%, but remains behind Andhra Pradesh (99.2%), Tamil Nadu (99%) and Kerala (92.6%). Karnataka, at 51.7%, is the only southern state with lower coverage.JV Madhusudan, professor at the University of Hyderabad, said the improvement was a positive development, particularly given the growing role of technology in education. “Several technological developments have taken place in recent years, and the progress associated with initiatives such as Digital India has made technology increasingly important. Telangana can also look at states that are performing better and assess what more can be done to bridge the remaining gaps,” he said.
