Education policy will meet needs of ‘Gen Alpha, Gen Beta’: Revanth

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who holds the portfolio of education, has declared that the Telangana government is formulating a new education policy keeping in mind the needs and aspirations of ‘Gen Alpha’ (born between 2010 and 2024) and ‘Gen Beta’ (born after 2025 and up to 2039).

Participating in a discussion on the education sector in the Legislative Assembly, Revanth said the government was adopting “the best practices from across the world” while framing the new policy.

Revanth Reddy said the government had constituted an Education Commission to formulate a new education policy for Telangana.

A committee headed by K Keshava Rao had been appointed to examine the report submitted by the commission. He appealed to members to convey their suggestions and pieces of advice to Keshava Rao, assuring them that the government was ready to consider constructive recommendations.

The Chief Minister said he had retained the education portfolio as he firmly believed that the nation's future was shaped in classrooms and that education played a decisive role in determining the destiny of society. He said Telangana needed to introduce certain changes in its education system to enable students to compete globally.

The Chief Minister acknowledged that policy decisions could sometimes trigger controversies. Referring to GO Ms. No. 97 concerning polytechnic colleges, he said it was one such instance. He said the government was willing to consider suggestions from all members while formulating the state's education policy and stressed the need for a long-term approach while addressing the changing requirements of future generations.

Revanth appreciated the fact that the Assembly was discussing Telangana's education policy. The government, he assured the House, would examine the suggestions made by members and take appropriate action.

Responding to criticism that there was no full-fledged Education Minister, Revanth Reddy said the fact that, as Chief Minister, he himself was overseeing the department demonstrated the importance attached to education. He said he had a personal interest in the sector and that whenever he reviewed the department, the entire system participated in the process.

The Chief Minister said the erstwhile Bharat Rashtra Samithi government had allocated Rs 19,093 crore to the Education Department in the 2023-24 budget, while the Congress government increased the allocation to Rs 21,292 crore in 2024-25, Rs 23,108 crore in 2025-26 and to Rs 26,647 crore in 2026-27. Revanth said the Education Department's budget had increased by Rs 7,554 crore in three years and expressed the government's ambition of raising education spending up to 15 per cent of the state’s budget.

Revanth Reddy said student enrolment in government schools had increased by 86,000 since he assumed charge. He described the increase as evidence of the government's efforts to strengthen public education.

The Chief Minister said the government had filled 10,006 teacher vacancies within 55 days during its first year in office and claimed that the recruitment process was completed without any allegation of impropriety. In contrast, he alleged, the previous government had recruited only 7,857 teachers in 10 years.

The Chief Minister recalled that India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had accorded priority to education and irrigation. He said several educational institutions and universities in Telangana had been established during the Congress government's tenure in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.

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