The Telangana Assembly saw a heated debate on Tuesday between the ruling party and the opposition over the education budget. Former Education Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy criticized Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for not fulfilling his promises related to education. In response, Ministers D. Sridhar Babu, Jupally Krishna Rao, and Seethakka defended the government’s actions and highlighted past shortcomings under the previous BRS government.
Sabitha Indra Reddy referred to the latest Socio-Economic Survey to challenge the government’s claims about improvements in school education. She pointed out that student enrollment in private schools had increased from 31 lakh to 36 lakh, while enrollment in government schools had dropped from 23 lakh to 19 lakh. She also questioned the government’s recruitment of teachers, stating that despite 25,000 vacancies, only 11,000 positions were announced for hiring. She reminded the Assembly that Revanth Reddy had made promises to address various issues in the education sector.
In response, Minister Seethakka countered the opposition’s claims by criticizing the previous BRS government’s policies. She pointed out that the ‘breakfast scheme’ for students, announced under KCR’s rule, never actually took off. She also recalled an incident where KCR’s grandson, Himanshu, covered his nose upon seeing the condition of a government school in Gowlidoddi while being taken to a private school in 2023. Seethakka argued that while the BRS government claimed to have developed government schools, they failed to provide even basic facilities in them.
Sabitha Indra Reddy further accused the Congress government of favoring certain areas, saying that while they had criticized the development of constituencies like Gajwel, Sircilla, and Siddipet under BRS rule, Revanth Reddy himself focused on recruiting Vidya Volunteers only in his own constituency while ignoring the rest of the state. In response, Minister Sridhar Babu defended the Congress government by stating that education and healthcare remain their top priorities. He highlighted that the government had already reopened 79 schools that were shut during the BRS regime and assured that rebuilding the education system would take time.
