Telangana Government Partners with Legal Services Authority to Roll Out Legal Awareness, Child Protection in Schools

April 30, 2026 : Hyderabad: The Telangana government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Telangana State Legal Services Authority to introduce legal awareness and child protection mechanisms across 5,711 high schools in the state. The agreement was formalised between Dr E. Naveen Nicolas, director of school education, and Ch. Panchakshari, member secretary of the authority, in the presence of Justice P. Sam Koshy, who serves as executive director of the authority.

The programme will cover a wide range of institutions, including 194 model schools, 4,704 government and zilla parishad schools, 495 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, 35 schools run by the Telangana Gurukul Residential Educational Institutions Society, 33 urban residential schools and 250 aided schools.

Under the initiative, students and teachers will receive structured legal literacy sessions focusing on fundamental rights, duties and constitutional values. Schools will also conduct awareness campaigns on child rights and key laws related to child labour, child marriage and abuse.

As part of the rollout, legal literacy and child rights clubs will be established in schools, and one teacher in each institution will be designated as a child protection officer. The programme also includes provisions for legal aid, counselling and support services for students and their families.

Officials said a key component will involve identifying school dropouts and counselling them to return to the education system. Authorities plan to coordinate implementation at both state and district levels, with periodic reviews to monitor progress.

The initiative aims to equip students with a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities from an early age while strengthening child safety and promoting constitutional values through the school system.