A significant transformation is sweeping through Telangana's educational sector, as hundreds of budget private schools are rapidly abandoning the state board syllabus in favor of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum. This mass migration, driven by escalating parental aspirations and anxieties about future competitiveness, is fundamentally altering the school landscape from Hyderabad to small towns and mandal headquarters.
The Parent-Driven Exodus
The shift is not led by policymakers but by parents themselves. In the past two to three years alone, an estimated 500 to 600 schools have applied for No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to make the switch. The president of the Telangana Recognised School Management Association, Shekar Rao Y, explains that the post-pandemic mindset has changed. "Parents are no longer looking at marks alone. They want overall development and are increasingly moving away from the state syllabus, still largely based on rote learning," he stated. This demand is most pronounced among middle- and upper-middle-class families, even in villages and mandals.
School owners confirm this pressure. Sharath Kumar Surabhi, who has run Vidhya Bharathi High School in Tandur, Mancherial, for three decades, said, "It is primarily because of pressure from parents that I applied for an NOC to offer the CBSE curriculum." His school, with over 1,700 students, plans to transition in the 2026–27 academic year.
The Steep Cost of a CBSE Label
This transition comes with a substantial financial burden for families. Telangana has approximately 8,000 to 10,000 private budget schools, where annual fees in rural areas typically range between ₹20,000 and ₹35,000. Once a school shifts to CBSE, fees invariably rise to at least ₹50,000 annually, even in rural pockets—an increase of 1.5 to 2 times.
School managements justify this hike by citing the mandatory infrastructure requirements set by the CBSE. These norms mandate at least half an acre of land in cities like Hyderabad and a minimum of two acres in rural areas, along with proper playgrounds, laboratories, and adequate teaching staff. For parents, however, the CBSE label is perceived as a minimum guarantee of better facilities, trained teachers, and a curriculum aligned with national competitive exams like JEE and NEET.
Institutional Support and Competitive Edge
Beyond parental perception, school operators highlight the structural benefits of the CBSE framework. They point to better institutional support, regular academic reforms, accessible regional offices, and structured training programmes for teachers. "In the state syllabus, there is hardly any monitoring. CBSE gives us a better platform," said IV Ramana, who runs New Era School in Khammam and applied for an NOC for the 2025–26 academic year.
Contrary to concerns, operators at the mandal level report no shortage of qualified teachers for the CBSE curriculum, provided schools offer competitive salaries. A growing ecosystem of hiring agencies and consultants is available to recruit faculty, manage laboratories, and provide coaching support for competitive exams. "In a state like Telangana where the focus is heavily on exams such as JEE and NEET, moving to CBSE has become inevitable," noted Aenugu Srikanth Reddy, who has received an NOC to start a CBSE school in Jannaram.
Potential Consequences and a Deepening Divide
While the trend empowers a section of aspirational families, education experts sound a note of caution. The steady drain of schools and students away from the state syllabus could severely weaken enrolments in remaining state-board institutions. This risks deepening the existing divide between private and government education. More critically, it pushes affordable schooling further out of reach for economically marginalised families, for whom even the current budget school fees are a stretch.
The race for CBSE affiliation in Telangana is thus a double-edged sword. It reflects a laudable demand for quality and holistic education but also threatens to exacerbate educational inequality, making the promise of 'all-round development' an increasingly exclusive commodity.
