Telangana Education Commission chairperson Akunuri Murali resigns

Telangana Education Commission chairperson Akunuri Murali resigned a little over three months before completing his tenure. During his term, the Commission made several controversial recommendations on entrance exams, fee reimbursement, teacher policies and private school fee regulation.

Hyderabad: Little over three months before the completion of his tenure, Telangana Education Commission chairperson Akunuri Murali on Friday tendered his resignation from the position.

In his resignation letter sent to Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, Murali, who was appointed on September 6, 2024, wrote, “As we have completed the task of submitting a comprehensive report on education with recommendations, I am submitting my resignation from the post of Chairperson, Telangana Education Commission.”

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During Murali’s tenure, the Telangana Education Commission made several controversial recommendations, including scrapping the Telangana Engineering, Agriculture and Pharmacy Common Entrance Test (TG EAPCET) and the fee reimbursement scheme, and trimming salaries of government school staff.

Citing the impact of the competitive exam coaching culture on the mental health of students, the Commission had recommended that the government do away with TG EAPCET and suggested that admissions to professional programmes be conducted based on merit secured in the Intermediate Public Examinations. Further, it wanted the government to merge the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education with School Education.

The Commission also recommended scrapping the fee reimbursement scheme, which had helped lakhs of students complete higher education over several years, for private colleges that underperform for more than two years.

Apart from trimming salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff in government schools, the Commission suggested that the government end automatic promotion for newly recruited teachers and introduce in-service education for continuous professional learning. Staff failing to show progress within two years may be removed from service. These recommendations created a huge uproar among students and the teaching community.

Regarding fee regulation in private schools, the Commission had recommended a 10 to 15 per cent fee hike once every three years on the lines of the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee, which fixes fees for private professional colleges.

In fact, the Commission, which had been constituted by the government only to seek recommendations, submitted the Telangana Private Schools and Junior Colleges Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Draft Bill 2025. However, the draft Bill was never taken up by the government.