Hyderabad: Telangana ’s literacy rate stood at 74.6% in 2025, down from 76.9% in 2023-24 and well below the national average of 80.9%, keeping the state in the bottom of the charts in south India.
Only 6.3% of grade 3 children in rural Telangana could read a grade 2-level text as per the 2024 ASER report. Even in grade 5, it was only 31.5%, while among grade 8 children it was 56.7%.
Retired Osmania University professor Dr Mrunalini Talla said the issue needs to be assessed beyond enrolment figures. Issues such as dropouts, socio-economic disadvantages and the weakening of the govt-school system can have a bearing on literacy,” she told TOI . Education expert Dr Pratibha Reddy said the bigger concern was whether children were acquiring basic skills despite spending years in school. This shows that children can spend years in school without necessarily acquiring age-appropriate reading or writing skills,” she said. A govt teacher from Mulugu said poverty, poor awareness and limited access to higher classes continued to push children out of school. There are many dropouts at the school level itself,” he said. P Sarojini Devi, joint director of model schools, department of school education, said: “A lot of students have to come from places far off to study.
International Literacy Day , experts attribute the slow progress to school dropouts, the weakening or discontinuation of govt schools, socio-economic disadvantages, implementation gaps and inadequate public spending. “We need to look beyond enrollment and examine whether children are actually coping with what they are taught. “Teachers here need upskilling. Not all Telangana districts are doing bad. The urban belts and the areas growing like Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Warangal have actually improved performance as per surveys. “The main drawbacks in rural areas are poverty and lack of awareness about literacy. Many children start doing odd jobs at an early age to earn, as parents feel that ultimately, whether through education or work, they have to earn to feed themselves. Officials acknowledged gaps in access and support. They do not have proper food and transport facilities to travel to the headquarters of the districts for enrolling in high schools. The breakfast scheme and midday meals have not been implemented fully yet. We are working on it, and also trying to bring in schemes that provide these basic facilities to students. ”