HYDERABAD: Telangana has climbed five places in the Union government’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for school education for 2025–26, improving its national ranking from 31st to 26th.
Official sources attributed the improvement to initiatives taken by the state government under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to strengthen public education through teacher recruitment, training, infrastructure development and measures to improve learning outcomes.
According to the latest PGI 2.0 report released by the Ministry of Education, Telangana’s overall score increased from 552.5 in 2024-25 to 599.7 in 2025–26 out of a maximum of 1,000. The state also moved from the Akankshi-1 (Aspirational-1) category to the Prachesta-3 (Progress-3) category.
The improvement was reflected across districts, with every district either maintaining or improving its previous performance. Jangaon emerged as the highest-scoring district with 383 marks out of 600, performing particularly well in Learning Outcomes (188/290) and Infrastructure, Facilities and Student Entitlements (42/51). Mancherial followed with 360 marks. Jangaon was placed in the Uttam-3 (Excellent-3) category, while Mancherial was among the districts placed in the Prachesta-1 category.
Officials said the state recruited 10,006 teachers through the mega DSC recruitment drive and appointed 1,382 DSC-2008 candidates as contract teachers. Teacher training programmes, which had remained largely inactive for nearly a decade, were revived. Summer training was conducted for 1,12,882 teachers and 1,16,084 headmasters. The government also transferred 34,706 teachers in June 2024 after a gap of six years and promoted 25,950 teachers across various cadres.
Learning outcomes also improved, with government school students outperforming their counterparts in private schools in Class III assessments. Telangana’s ranking in Class III improved from 36th to 26th, while its ranking for Classes VIII and IX improved from 26th to 17th.
The government also expanded access to higher secondary education for girls. Of the state’s 495 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), 283 have been upgraded to Intermediate level, while another 120 schools were upgraded during 2025–26. In addition, 93 KGBVs have been identified as Young India Institutes of Excellence, where students receive coaching for engineering, medical and law entrance examinations.
Officials said Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) indicators also improved. Student proficiency in Telugu increased from 9% to 35%, English from 4% to 29%, Urdu from 19% to 40%, and Mathematics from 18% to 30%.
Technology-enabled learning was expanded through the EkStep AXL-FLN programme, which is being implemented in 1,354 schools and benefits 15,848 students. Free digital coaching by PhysicsWallah is being provided in 194 Model Schools, 495 KGBVs and 37 Telangana Residential Educational Institutions, while Khan Academy supports Mathematics and Science education for Classes VI to XII.
The state has also established 1,132 ICT laboratories, installed 2,036 interactive flat panels and set up 4,249 AXL computer laboratories in primary schools.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital literacy were introduced into the curriculum during the 2025–26 academic year. Digital literacy has been incorporated into Mathematics textbooks for Classes I to V, while students of Classes VI to IX are being introduced to AI, coding, data handling and design thinking.
The government also organised study visits to Finland and Germany for nearly 500 teachers and education officials to study international best practices in school education.
Officials said the SSC Public Examination 2025–26 recorded a pass percentage of 95.15%, with 5,731 schools achieving a 100% pass rate.
