Telangana's government schools decline by 1,969 in a year, private schools gain

Hyderabad: The number of government schools in Telangana fell by 1,969 in the academic year 2025-26 compared to the previous year, while private schools increased by 771, according to data from the Department of School Education’s Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+).

The latest figures reflect a decade-long trend in which private schools have steadily gained preference among parents, while government schools—which experienced a temporary surge in enrolment during the COVID-19 pandemic—have once again seen their numbers shrink.

Between 2016-17 and 2025-26, the total number of schools in Telangana declined from 43,134 to 41,762, a drop of 3.2%. During the same period, overall student enrolment rose by 16.8%. However, enrolment in government schools fell by 8.2%, while private schools recorded a 41% increase.

Private schools increased from 12,573 in 2016-17 to 13,245 in 2025-26, a rise of about 5.3%. In contrast, the number of government schools fell from 29,427 to 28,088, a decline of 4.6%, with much of the reduction occurring in the final year. Government-aided schools saw the steepest decline, with their numbers nearly halving from 756 to 392—a fall of about 48%.

The total number of teachers across the state rose sharply from 2,43,233 in 2016-17 to 3,70,756 in 2025-26—an increase of about 52%. Private schools accounted for much of this growth, with their teaching workforce more than doubling from 1,04,853 to 2,11,740, a rise of 102%. Government schools also added teachers, with numbers rising from 1,33,124 to 1,56,178, an increase of 17.3%. This reversal means private schools now employ a significantly larger teaching workforce than government schools. Aided schools, in line with their shrinking footprint, saw teacher numbers decline from 3,618 to 2,704, a fall of about 25%.

Overall student enrolment in Telangana rose from about 65.7 lakh in 2016-17 to 76.8 lakh in 2025-26, an increase of nearly 17%. Private schools absorbed most of this growth, with enrolment rising from about 35.1 lakh to nearly 49.5 lakh—a 41% increase. Government schools saw enrolment fall from about 28.9 lakh to 26.5 lakh, a decline of more than 8%. Aided schools recorded an even steeper fall, with enrolment dropping from about 1.34 lakh to less than 70,000, a decline of roughly 48%.

As a result, private schools’ share of total student enrolment rose from about 53.4% in 2016-17 to roughly 64.5% in 2025-26. Government schools’ share fell from about 43.9% to 34.5%, while aided schools’ share declined from about 2% to less than 1%.

One positive development is the marked improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio, which fell from about 27 students per teacher in 2016-17 to 21 in 2025-26, reflecting the robust growth in teacher numbers relative to student enrolment.