Telangana begins merging government schools to establish TGPS

Telangana has begun merging government schools to establish Telangana Public Schools, with 134 more proposed. Teachers fear the initiative could lead to closures and force children to travel longer distances, potentially affecting access to neighbourhood schools.

Hyderabad: The Telangana Congress government‘s plan to reduce the number of government schools from 26,000 to 4,000 appears to be slowly taking shape, with steps being initiated to merge multiple government schools to set up Telangana Public Schools (TGPS) in the State.

The School Education department has recently issued an order directing district educational officers to merge multiple schools operating on the same campus into a single institution under one administration. These include MPPS, ZPHS, Model Schools, KGBVs, Social Welfare residential schools and junior colleges.

---

The State government has recently established TGPS in Arutla, Polkampally, Vanguru and Manchala. Four to five government schools in the surrounding areas of these TGPS have already been merged to set up each TGPS. In some cases, ZP schools, Model Schools and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), which function under different managements, have also been merged with TGPSs.

A government model school, primary school, a girls’ high school, a boys’ high school and an SC Welfare hostel were merged to establish TGPS Arutla. As for TGPS Polkampally, primary and high schools that had 150 pupils on their rolls have been merged. As the new building is under construction, classes are being held in an SC hostel.

The government has proposed to establish 134 more TGPS along similar lines. Each rural Assembly constituency has been allocated one TGPS. However, nine schools each have already been sanctioned for the Kodangal and Madhira constituencies, represented by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, respectively. Sixteen TGPS have also been proposed in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Sangareddy and Medchal districts.

The TGPS initiative could indirectly lead to the closure of several government schools in the name of mergers. The Chief Minister had earlier announced that the number of schools in the State would be reduced from 26,000 to 4,000 over a period of time.

The TGPS initiative, according to teachers, could affect nearby schools in two ways: merger of four to five schools into one. Later, buses will transport students from surrounding villages to the TGPS, covering five to 10 km. They said this goes against the RTE Act, which mandates the establishment of a primary and upper primary school within 1 km and 3 km, respectively, of the neighbourhood.

The State has more than 2,000 government schools with zero enrolment. Another 2,428 schools have fewer than 10 students. As many as 4,180 schools have 11 to 20 students, while 3,097 schools have 21 to 30 students. Overall, around 7,500 schools report low or no enrolment, and these institutions could be immediately merged with the TGPS.