HYDERABAD: The future of thousands of students studying under the Best Available Schools (BAS) scheme in Telangana has once again come under uncertainty, as several school managements have reportedly decided not to admit beneficiaries for the upcoming academic year (2026–27) due to long-pending scholarship payments.
Parents and school representatives say the situation has reached a critical point after the Telangana government allegedly failed to release scholarship funds for the past three academic years. According to the Telangana BAS Parents Association, nearly Rs 218 crore in dues remain unpaid, prompting schools to issue warnings that they may no longer be able to continue the scheme without financial support.
Across the state, around 240 schools operate under the BAS scheme, providing education to nearly 30,000 students and employing close to 15,000 teaching and non-teaching staff. Data shared by the association shows that the bulk of the pending scholarships relate to students from marginalised communities. Of the students enrolled, nearly 23,000 belong to the SC community, including 9,000 day scholars and 14,000 residential students, with dues amounting to about Rs 145 crore. In addition, around 7,000 ST students staying in residential facilities are awaiting scholarships worth Rs 73 crore.
M Amar, president of the Telangana BAS Parents Association, said the repeated appeals to the government had yielded no results. “We are tired of repeatedly urging the state government to release the pending amount. For the upcoming academic year, BAS schools have issued a final ultimatum that students will not be allowed to continue and no new admissions will be taken under the scheme. We are now in a dilemma about the future of our children.”
School managements say the prolonged delay in payments has pushed many institutions into financial distress. Yadagiri Sekhar Rao, general secretary of the Best Available School Managements (BASM) Association, said schools were struggling to stay afloat.
“We are facing a severe financial crisis, and our reserve funds are completely exhausted. We are vexed of requesting the government to release the pending funds. If this does not happen, many schools may not be able to reopen in the next academic year. Most of our schools had to take loans to run daily operations. Now, financiers, bankers and moneylenders are coming to the schools demanding repayment and issuing legal notices. Some are even threatening to lock the schools,” said Yadagiri Sekhar Rao.
He further added that around 80–85 % of the schools operate in rented buildings, while the owners of the remaining institutions are also burdened with loans. He said the managements are unwilling to shut down the schools as they remain committed to providing quality education, particularly to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students, but the mounting financial pressure is pushing many institutions towards closure.
The Telangana BAS Parents Association has warned that if the pending scholarships are not cleared immediately, several schools may stop admitting students under the scheme in the coming academic year, potentially disrupting the education of thousands of children from marginalised communities.
Several student organisations have also appealed to the state government to intervene immediately and clear the pending dues, warning that further delay could jeopardise the education of thousands of students studying under the BAS scheme.