Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 23 (ANI): Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has questioned the state government's claims regarding the growth of government school enrolment and cited UDISE+ data for the academic year 2025-26 to highlight a decline in student numbers.

In a post on X, Jagan alleged that the government's claim of over 1.10 lakh students shifting from private schools to government schools was contradicted by official figures. He said the data showed a decline in enrolment in government schools between the academic years 2023-24 and 2025-26.

https://x.com/ysjagan/status/2091417870798672066?s=48

'The UDISE + Data for AY (Academic year) 2025-26 brings to light a very dangerous trend in the State of Andhra Pradesh. There is a clear reduction in the number of enrolments during AY 2025-26, when compared with AY 2023-24, the last year of our Government, particularly in Government schools. The State Government has repeatedly claimed that over 1.10 lakh students have shifted from private schools to government schools, portraying it as evidence of growing public confidence in government education. This is in line with their party's philosophy of making most unjustifiable claims and ones which are very clearly exposed and contradicted by official statistics and figures,' he said.

The former chief minister said government school enrolment fell from 40,50,116 students in 2023-24 to 34,93,450 students in 2025-26, while the number of government schools also declined during the period. He also claimed that enrolment in private schools increased during the same period.

He further said, 'If government schools were indeed witnessing such a large influx of students, the overall enrolment in government schools should have increased. Instead, the UDISE plus (Unified District Information system for School Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India) comparison between AY 2023-24 and AY 2025-26 shows that government school enrolment fell from 40,50,116 to 34,93,450 students, a decline of 5,56,666 students. At the same time, the number of government schools have also been reduced from 45,000 to 44,222, while government-aided schools declined from 991 to 797. What is also noteworthy is that during the same period, the enrolment of students in schools operating under private management have increased from 45,53,380 in 2023-24 to 48,40,296 in 2025-26. Therefore, the enrolment in Government and Government aided schools has come down and the enrolment in private schools has increased. This clearly demonstrates the plight of Government schools in AP and proves that the claim of the State Government is incorrect.'

Jagan Reddy also highlighted the education reforms undertaken during the YSRCP government between 2019-24, including infrastructure upgrades under the Mana Badi - Nadu Nedu initiative, distribution of tabs to students and teachers, introduction of English medium instruction, digital learning facilities and steps towards international education programmes.

He said, 'During the period of the YSRCP regime between 2019-24, the number of reforms and transformative steps initiated have brought about substantial improvements in the education system. The Mana Badi - Nadu Nedu initiative had modernized the infrastructure across 56,703 government schools, welfare hostels, and junior colleges by upgrading facilities like furniture, drinking water, sanitation, classrooms and so forth. Phase I, covering 15,715 schools, was completed, while Phase II extended these improvements to 22,344 schools and Phase III was underway by June 2024.'

He further mentioned initiatives including free tabs with pre-loaded BYJU'S content for Class 8 students and teachers, digital classroom infrastructure, smart TVs, TOEFL-based English learning and plans for introducing the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.

Jagan Reddy said the focus of the previous government was to make quality education accessible to all sections of society. (ANI)