Telangana CM hasn't ordered government employees to educate children in public institutions

What is the claim?

Social media posts claiming that the newly elected Congress government in the south Indian state of Telangana has ordered all government employees “from peon to collector” to educate their children in public institutions are circulating widely on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). These posts claim that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has given instructions that if government employees fail to comply with the new order, they will supposedly lose out on their increments, promotions, and the facilities provided by the state government will be withdrawn. Archived versions of such posts, mostly written in Telugu, can be viewed here, here, here, and here.

Screenshot of a viral social media claim. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, neither the chief minister nor the Telangana government has passed such an order.

What did we find?

We looked for news reports from credible news outlets about any such announcement by the chief minister or the state government but did not come across anything.

We also went through the official website of the Telangana government to check for orders passed since December 7— when Revanth Reddy and the new legislators took oath— to check if the new government had announced such a decision. However, the website shows no order to that effect.

We also combed through the statements released by the Chief Minister’s Office on its official website and came across no announcement by Revanth Reddy making it compulsory for government employees to send their children to public schools. 

Logically Facts also reached out to the Telangana school education department to seek clarification on the issue. A senior official, who did not wish to be identified, informed us that the department had received no such order or instruction, as mentioned in the viral post, from the new government. 

Logically Facts also contacted Bapanaiah, a senior journalist with Telugu Daily Eenadu, who reports on the education beat. He clarified that the chief minister gave no such orders and said, “The state is yet to get a dedicated education minister. Such large-scale policy decisions cannot be taken without a Minister for Education in place.” The new government has only appointed 12 ministers holding portfolios for different ministries so far. The education ministry portfolio is currently with CM Revanth Reddy, who is also heading several other ministries.

The verdict

Claims that the Telangana chief minister has made it mandatory for government employees to educate their children in public institutes are baseless. No such orders have been passed by the CM or the state government. Therefore, we have marked this claim false.