Jagan calls Lokesh’s claim of 82.1% literacy in Andhra bogus, citing Center survey showing 71.4%

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. File | Photo credit: Special arrangement

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh’s claim that the literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh increased from 72.60% in 2024 to 82.10% in 2026 was shocking as no literacy statistics for the calendar year 2026 had been released so far.

Mr. Lokesh did claim in a post on X on Tuesday (September 2, 2026)sharing a news report to that effect. “I am VERY excited to report that AP has shot up to 82.1% in literacy in 2026 from 72.6% in 2024!” he wrote, adding that the state was “among the lowest in India in 2024” when he took charge of the department.

I am SUPER EXCITED to report that AP has shot up to 82.1% in literacy in 2026 from 72.6% in 2024!

We were one of the lowest in India in 2024 when I took charge of the education department. The transformation we are creating is truly historic. My best wishes for… pic.twitter.com/Nhvwigk7TJ

— Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) September 2, 2026

In a post on X on Friday (September 4)Mr. Jagan said that the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 conducted by the National Bureau of Sample Survey put the literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh at 72.60% for the age group of seven years and above and that the corresponding figure for 2018-19 was 69.10%.

The PLFS for the calendar year 2025 has placed the state’s literacy rate at 71.40% in the same age group, he said. This document was published on 2 July 2026. In addition, he published relevant extracts from three reports.

It’s shocking to see the misinformation propagated by the present Andhra Pradesh Government.

Education Minister claims literacy rate to rise from 72.6% in 2024 to… pic.twitter.com/6yzdtMCVjV

— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) September 4, 2026

“When things are so clear enough, it is most unfortunate for the government to make false claims and attempt to deceive the people of the state,” he wrote.

Mr. Jagan said that in fact, enrollment in government schools has been falling and enrollment in private schools has been rising, according to the Indian government’s Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+), due to policy changes brought in by the current state government. The UDISE+ table released by him shows that enrollment in government schools fell from 40.50 lakh in 2023-24, the last year of his government, to 34,93 lakh, while enrollment in unaided private schools rose by 2.87 lakh 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.8 million Total enrollment in all schools decreased by 3.05 million in two years.

He claimed that the government was not focusing on making education accessible to children from economically weaker backgrounds and was instead making false claims.

“It is appropriate that the Education Minister devotes more time and effort to his department and not red book management,” he wrote, tagging Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Published – 04 Sep 2026 14:03 IST