The State government on Monday (August 17, 2026) strongly defended the conduct of the Mega DSC-2025 recruitment, asserting that the entire process was transparent, merit-based, and legally compliant, and challenged the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to substantiate its allegations in the Legislative Assembly.

Minister of IT and Education Nara Lokesh made a statement on the Mega DSC 2025 in the State Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Participating in the debate, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said that there had been ‘not a single deviation’ from the DSC notification at any stage and that all details relating to the recruitment had been placed online. He accused the YSRCP of adopting ‘hit-and-run’ politics by making allegations outside the House and challenged the Opposition to fix a date and time for a debate.

The entire process of conducting the Mega DSC-2025 teacher recruitment was transparent, merit-based, and legally compliant, he said, while challenging the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to substantiate its allegations in the Assembly.

Mr. Naidu said he would remain fully accountable to the people and left it to the people to judge the conduct of those levelling allegations against the government.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition for its absence from the Assembly, he alleged that the party had stayed away from the House for the past two-and-a-half years while continuing to draw salaries and enjoying legislative privileges. “Responsible persons should come to the Assembly and place their demands. If what they say is factual, we will correct it,” he said, adding that the government would take measures to ensure that examinations were conducted in a more robust manner in the future.

Mr. Lokesh, who gave a detailed account of the recruitment process, said 16,347 teacher posts had been notified and 3,36,300 candidates had submitted 5,77,675 applications. The recruitment was completed within 148 days, with 16,291 candidates issued call letters following certificate verification.

He said examinations were conducted at 154 centres in Andhra Pradesh and 19 centres outside the State, in 89 sessions over 24 days for 67 categories of posts. A question bank containing 42,000 questions across 13 subjects was prepared with the assistance of SCERT experts. Aadhaar-based OTP authentication, encrypted data transmission, CCTV surveillance, and physical inspection of examination centres were among the measures adopted to prevent malpractice.

Mr. Lokesh said a scientific normalisation procedure was used for candidates appearing in different sessions and that 87.8% of candidates received their first-choice examination centres. The final answer key, district-wise merit lists and selection lists were made available online.

On grievances, he said 33,830 complaints were received and processed through a three-stage mechanism, with only 36 reaching the final appellate authority. He also defended the implementation of vertical and horizontal reservations, saying the government had followed constitutional provisions and Supreme Court judgments.

Responding to allegations concerning the sports quota, Mr. Lokesh said the number of recognised sports disciplines had been increased from 29 to 65 in accordance with Central guidelines. Of the 372 candidates selected under the quota, 46 were from the OC category, 185 BC, 112 SC and 29 ST, he said.

Rejecting paper leak allegations, he said question papers were generated through a large question bank and randomisation system, making it impossible for all candidates to receive an identical paper. He said an outsourced employee accused of involvement in question paper preparation had no such role and was later disqualified for failing to complete certificate verification requirements.

Mr. Lokesh said 336 cases had been filed in connection with the Mega DSC, but the government completed recruitment despite the legal challenges. He announced that three more DSC recruitments would be conducted, including a fresh notification for around 3,000 posts this year.

Mr. Lokesh reiterated that he was ready for a debate ‘inside or outside the Assembly’ and said no one would be spared if evidence of any genuine irregularity was produced.

Published - August 17, 2026 08:37 pm IST