The Chandrababu Naidu government’s claim that 1.10 lakh students shifted from private to government schools does not stand up to scrutiny. Official UDISE+ data released by the Union Ministry of Education paints a completely different picture. In just two academic years, 4,94,039 students left government schools, while 3,34,761 students enrolled in private schools, exposing the government’s claims as misleading.
Government school enrolment has fallen sharply from 40.50 lakh in 2023–24 to 34.93 lakh in 2025–26, while private school enrolment has increased to 48.40 lakh. Instead of disclosing the net loss of students, the government highlighted only the number of students who joined government schools, conveniently ignoring those who left.
The decline comes after the coalition government dismantled several education reforms introduced under YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, including English-medium education, Nadu-Nedu infrastructure, digital classrooms, student tablets, BYJU’S content, TOEFL training and bilingual textbooks. These initiatives had transformed government schools and narrowed the gap between public and private education.
The government’s flagship “Talliki Vandanam” scheme has also failed to match its promises. Though it pledged ₹15,000 per child, the first year saw no implementation, while subsequent years excluded lakhs of eligible students and reduced actual financial assistance for many beneficiaries.
The condition of government schools has further deteriorated. Thousands of schools continue to function with a single teacher, dropout rates remain high, and maintenance of Nadu-Nedu infrastructure has been neglected. Complaints have surfaced over poor-quality midday meals, non-functional RO plants, inadequate sanitation, and unhygienic hostel conditions affecting students’ health.
Instead of strengthening public education, the government has focused on publicity through Mega PTMs while allowing learning outcomes and enrolment to decline. At the same time, corporate educational institutions such as Narayana and Bhashyam, promoted by leaders associated with the ruling party, have witnessed growing admissions.
The real measure of success is not promotional events or selective statistics, but whether students stay in government schools, receive quality education and have access to proper infrastructure. On every one of these counts, the official data shows that government schools are moving backwards, not entering a “new era.”
