Providing quality higher education in Telangana

Telangana government set up several colleges, technical institutions.

Hyderabad: In its endeavour to make free, quality education accessible to all, Telangana government established a large number of public, higher educational institutions in the State since formation of State in 2014. From establishing government junior and degree colleges to technical educational institutions, the State government laid equal emphasis on access and equity, besides free, quality education particularly for students from rural backgrounds. Statistics show a staggering 20 government junior colleges commenced in the last 10 years.

The current number of junior colleges stands at 420, providing quality education to the students in both general and vocational Intermediate streams. With education being extended free, the State government commenced free distribution of textbooks as well to students of the government junior colleges from the academic year 2015-16. Free coaching for competitive entrance examinations has been reaping positive results with several students bagging seats in the premier institutions like IITs, NITs and AIIMs, besides engineering colleges every year.

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The focus has also been on building infrastructure in the junior colleges. A total of 48 new buildings, 186 additional classrooms, and 267 retaining walls were constructed, and 350 RV plants were installed as part of the infrastructure development. As for collegiate education, 23 government degree colleges (GDCs) were set up by the government since 2014. While a total of 22 new GDCs have come up in the last 10 years, 15 were sanctioned and commenced operations since 2021.

The present academic year alone saw sanctioning of seven GDCs, taking the total to 144. While there are 144 GDCs, including 23 newly established ones, a staggering 93 GDCs have received accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). With a 3.64 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) score, the Sri Rama and Bhaktha Gentela Narayana Rao (SR & BGNR) Government Degree College, Khammam, secured the NAAC A grade, which is the highest grade achieved by any degree college in the country.

Apart from Choice-Based Credit System and Bucket System in the GDCs, introduction of Degree Online Services, Telangana (DOST) streamlined the entire conventional degree admissions in all colleges in the State. Technical education also received a boost. A total of 20 new government polytechnic colleges were established since 2014, taking the total count to 61. In tune with market demands, these polytechnics have introduced new courses, including AI and ML, besides EV as a subject. An innovative open book examination has also been introduced in the polytechnics.