Since the Chandrababu coalition came to power, Education Minister Nara Lokesh has neglected his core responsibility and left the education sector directionless. Instead of focusing on schools, students, teachers and reforms, he has spent more time on foreign tours, Delhi visits, cricket trips and interference in other departments. As a result, government school enrolment is falling, DSC recruitment has become controversial, and the education reforms brought by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy have been stalled.
Lokesh is currently touring South Korea. In the last two years, he has officially travelled to Davos, the US, Canada, Australia and Russia, with every visit projected as an “investment hunt.” But the government must answer how much actual investment came to Andhra Pradesh through these trips. Meetings with industrialists, NRIs, photos and videos have remained publicity exercises, while no visible industrial or economic benefit has reached the state.
Lokesh has also made repeated visits to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister, Union Ministers and national leaders. Every visit was publicised heavily, but the outcome in terms of projects, funds or clear benefits for Andhra Pradesh remains zero.
The sharp fall in government school enrolment exposes Lokesh’s failure as Education Minister. In reply to a question raised by YSRCP MP Y.V. Subba Reddy in the Rajya Sabha, the Union Education Ministry stated that enrolment in Andhra Pradesh government schools fell from 36,43,083 in 2024–25 to 34,93,449 in 2025–26, a decline of 1,49,634 students in just one year. This reflects declining public confidence in government education, caused by uncertainty over English medium, discontinuity of CBSE implementation, and lack of attention to public schools.
The Chandrababu government has stalled the major education reforms introduced under Y.S. Jagan, including English medium, Nadu-Nedu, digital classrooms, TOEFL, IB and CBSE initiatives. These programmes had transformed government schools, but their neglect has pushed the education system backwards.
The so-called “Mega DSC” has turned into a “Daga DSC.” An outsourced employee, Naveen, who worked in the question paper preparation wing, secured the State first rank, and his details were later removed from the database. This exposes serious doubts over paper leakage. There are also charges that sports quota posts were sold for up to ₹15 lakh each, fake sports certificates were issued to ineligible candidates, and genuine aspirants were denied justice. Merit lists were not transparently displayed in collectorates, and only selected candidates received SMS alerts.
Lokesh has also faced criticism for frequent cricket-related trips. He watched the India–Australia women’s ODI in Visakhapatnam in October 2025, the India–South Africa Women’s World Cup final in Navi Mumbai in November 2025 with Brahmani and Devansh, the India–Pakistan Champions Trophy final in Dubai on February 23, 2025 with Devansh, a T20 match in Colombo on February 7, 2026, and the India–New Zealand T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad on March 8, 2026. He was also absent for eight days from April 19, 2026 during a reported foreign trip.
The real question today is whether Andhra Pradesh has an Education Minister at all. Why did nearly 1.5 lakh students leave government schools? Why did DSC become controversial? Why were Jagan’s education reforms stopped? Students, teachers and parents deserve answers.
