Around 89,000 children were engaged in child labour in Telangana in 2024, according to the Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political, and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey. Among them, 14% or nearly 12,460 children were from the Madiga Scheduled Caste (SC) community, while 11% or around 9,790 children were from the Lambadi Scheduled Tribe (ST) group. These communities also constituted a major share of daily wage workers in Telangana.
The survey, informally referred to as the Telangana caste census, found that about 1% of the state’s population under 18 was engaged in daily wage work. While the percentage may appear small, it translates to a substantial number of children in absolute terms.
Adjusted for population share, the highest incident of child labour was among the Kolam (ST) community at 7.2%, followed by Koya (ST), Gond (ST), and Beda (SC), as well as the Backward Class (BC) Valmiki communities.
The survey also pointed to persistent educational disparities across caste groups, with SC, ST and BC groups showing higher levels of educational backwardness.
An independent expert working group analysed the data using an educational backwardness index that factored in school dropout rates, highest levels of education attained, and access to English medium and private schooling. The findings were made public on Wednesday, April 15.
Among the 56 castes that together account 90% of Telangana’s population, Jains were found to have the highest educational attainment, while Oddes (BC) ranked as the most disadvantaged.
Reddys, a General Caste, were found to be on par with several BC communities, including BC-C SC Christians (Backward Class–Category C, which includes Dalit Christians) and Goldsmiths (BC). OC (Open Category, or General Category) Muslims also ranked lower in educational attainment, below many BC groups.
Several BC groups — such as Valmikis, Pitchiguntlas, Qureshi Muslims, Agnikulakshatriyas, Are Marath, Malis, and Mudirajs — were found to be more educationally disadvantaged than most SC communities.
Among Scheduled Tribes, Koya and Gond communities recorded the highest school dropout rates. In contrast, Brahmins, lyer/lyengar, BC-C SC Christians, Jains, and Kapus recorded the lowest dropout levels.
Access to English medium education also varied sharply. While around 47% of those under 30 across the 56 major castes reported studying in English medium schools, the share was as high as 72% among Brahmins and Komatis, compared to just 11% among Kolams (ST).
The proportion among Malas (SC) was close to the state average of 47%, but most SC and ST communities fell below this level in access to English medium education.
The working group was headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy and included political theorist Kancha Ilaiah, academic and Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty, economist Sukhadeo Thorat, former National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson Shantha Sinha, history professor Bhangya Bhukya, environmentalist Purushotham Reddy, economics professor Himanshu, and activist Nikhil Dey. Prominent economists Jean Drèze, Thomas Piketty, and Julia Cagé were special invitees to the group.
According to the government, the survey covered 97% of the state’s population.