Poor quality of government schools and the rising cost of private education are putting an increasing burden on families in Telangana, and despite waiting through successive governments, the condition of government schools remained a serious concern, Telangana People’s Front member MV Reddy said on Thursday (September 24, 2026).

While education remains crucial for improving people’s quality of life, poor people continue to get crushed by exorbitant private school fees without good government schools, he said.

Mr. Reddy along with other team members were addressing a round-table in Vikarabad, organised as part of TPFs 12-day Vidya Bus Yatra, to highlight concerns over school education and for measures to strengthen public education and regulate the rising cost of private education.

Several school and junior college students participated and raised concerns over inadequate facilities. They said that a school with around 400 girls had only two toilets.

The TPF team conducted ‘Badi Nidra’ at the ZP High School for Girls in Dharur village. The members alleged that the school had several abandoned buildings, no secure gate or boundary wall, and poor sanitation. Pigs, stray dogs and monkeys were reportedly roaming on the campus.

TPF leaders said sustained public demand was necessary to push governments to address the needs of public education system.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi has raised serious concerns over the irregularities in fee reimbursement scheme alleging that ineligible people are reaping the benefit of the government’s gesture at the expense of genuine students.

He pointed out to certain complicated issues surrounding the fee reimbursement during the question hour in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Friday (September 11, 2026). According to Mr. Owaisi, minimum wages for skilled labour were to the tune of ₹1.98 lakh in rural areas and over ₹2.2 lakh in urban areas. “Given the wage stipulations in place, none will benefit from fee reimbursement,” he said.

There were issues wherein students need not reapply for reimbursement every year in spite of low attendance, which could result in misuse of the funds released by the government. He expressed concern that inordinate delays in the release of dues of fee reimbursement adversely affected the staff with thousands of teachers not getting their salaries in time.

Mr. Owaisi stressed the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the existing system with framing new rules and guidelines so that the scope for misuse of funds was averted. “There are a lot of irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. The mistakes of the previous government should be rectified,” he asserted.

The AIMIM leader acknowledged the financial constraints faced by the government in release of funds but said these could be overcome if the “leakages” in the GST collection were plugged. “As a responsible man, I can say the government can earn additional ₹2,000 crore if the leakages are plugged,” he said.

Industries and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu said the government would soon call for an all party meeting to elicit views of the parties on the implementation of the scheme. “We are open for the constructive suggestions coming from political parties,” he said.

Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president N. Ramchander Rao on Monday (August 24, 2026) challenged Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi “who is travelling across the country and provoking students in BJP-ruled states”, to come to the State and give answers on the issue of fee reimbursement dues being withheld by the Congress government, if he has the courage.

Launching a 48-hour hunger strike at the BJP State office in Hyderabad in support of students demanding the immediate release of around ₹15,000 crore in fee reimbursement dues, the BJP leader accused the Congress Government of neglecting the education sector and jeopardising the future of nearly 40 lakh students in Telangana.

He criticised what he described as the “stubborn attitude and authoritarian approach” of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy — who also holds the education portfolio — of having pushed the “education system into a severe crisis”. The non-release of fee reimbursement dues has caused widespread hardship for students studying in professional and higher educational institutions.

He further alleged that despite assurances given after criticism from the High Court, the government had failed to release even the promised ₹2,000 crore advance for the next academic year. Asserting that the BJP would continue its agitation until the issue is resolved, Mr. Rao said the party stood firmly with students across the State.

The BJP leader claimed that party workers had toured colleges across Telangana and collected signatures from nearly five lakh students who were unhappy with the Congress government’s failure to clear fee reimbursement arrears.

Mr. Rao also charged the police of lathi-charging polytechnic students — when they had raised their grievances, and the government of ignoring the ongoing agitation by Ayush and Homeopathy students seeking an increase in their stipends. Earlier, police denied permission to him to hold the protest at the designated ‘Dharna Chowk’ near Indira Park.

Several senior BJP leaders including MP Rekha Sharma, BJP Legislature Party leader Aleti Maheshwar Reddy, Legislative Council leader A.V.N. Reddy, MPs D. Arvind, Raghunandan Rao and D.K. Aruna, MLAs Palvai Harish and Venkata Ramana Reddy, and MLCs Malka Komuraiah and Anji Reddy, extended support to the protest and criticised the Congress government over the issue.