The Telangana government launched a new scheme on Friday, October 11, to build Young India Integrated Residential Schools in all 119 assembly constituencies of the state. These schools aim to provide high-quality education to students from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). The initiative has been pitched as a step towards inclusive education, bringing together students from various social backgrounds under one roof to promote equality and eliminate caste and religious discrimination.
In the first phase, foundation stones were laid for 28 schools, with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurating the project at Kondurg in the Shadnagar assembly constituency. Each residential school will be built on 20-25 acres of land, accommodating up to 2,500 students from Class 4 to Class 12. The residential schools will take in all students, unlike the existing residential schools which restrict admission to any one category of religious or caste groups like SCs, STs, or OBCs. The schools will also ensure inclusivity for differently-abled students.
The estimated budget for the project is Rs 5,000 crore. These schools will feature modern infrastructure, including smart boards, digital libraries, and sports facilities for holistic development. The schools are being designed with a focus on sustainability and climate-conscious planning. They will utilise solar and wind energy for power and integrate rainwater harvesting systems to promote water conservation.
Revanth Reddy said that these integrated schools will foster a sense of brotherhood and unity among students, instead of “filling poison in their head by making them study separately.” He criticised the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government led by K Chandrashekhar Rao, known by the moniker KCR, for neglecting the education sector. Revanth alleged that 5,000 government schools were shut down under the BRS in the name of restructuring, and many of the existing residential schools operated out of rented buildings.
“It had closed down 5,000 government schools in the name of restructuring. Despite indulging in heavy borrowings to the extent of Rs 7 lakh crore and spending more than Rs 22 lakh crore on the state budget in the last 10 years, the previous government had not spent even Rs 10,000 crore on providing infrastructure in the government schools,” he said.
Revanth said that the Congress-led government, in contrast, has committed to investing Rs 5,000 crore in residential schools in one year, compared to the Rs 73 crore per year spent by the BRS administration. Revanth also accused KCR of prioritising the construction of party offices and the Telangana Secretariat, neglecting crucial educational infrastructure in rural areas.
The 28 constituencies where the foundation stones have been laid include Kodangal, Nalgonda, Warangal, Mulugu, Khammam, Shadnagar, and Mancherial among others.