In late July 2026, the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan — who took moral responsibility amid nationwide protests over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and related irregularities — has sharply focused attention on Andhra Pradesh’s Mega District Selection Committee (DSC) teacher recruitment of 2025. The Education Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Lokesh, faces parallel questions of accountability over alleged large-scale irregularities in that process, particularly the sports-quota appointments. With more than 3.3 lakh aspirants affected and serious doubts about transparency and fairness still unresolved, the demand for Lokesh’s resignation has gained force.
Historical background of sports quota in Andhra Pradesh recruitments
Sports reservations in state government jobs, including teaching posts, rest on a clear foundation. G.O.Ms.No.74, Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture (Sports) Department, dated 9 August 2012, provided a 2% reservation (treated as horizontal) for meritorious sportspersons in direct recruitment across government departments, local bodies, public sector undertakings and other institutions. Eligibility was tied to achievements in a defined list of recognised sports (around 29 disciplines), with certificates required from designated authorities. In teacher recruitments, sportspersons were generally expected to meet academic and professional qualifications and, in many cycles, to participate in the written test or TET process, with ranking influenced by examination performance.
Horizontal reservations (for women, persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen and sportspersons) cut across vertical categories (SC/ST/BC/EWS) and are implemented within social categories, guided by Supreme Court norms and state rules, including updates through G.O.Ms.No.77, GAD, 2023 and related orders.
Policy changes under the current government (2024–2025)
After the present government assumed office in 2024, a new Andhra Pradesh Sports Policy 2024–29 was announced. On 19 April 2025 two critical orders were issued:
- G.O.Ms.No.4, Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture (Sports & Youth Services) Department.
- G.O.Ms.No.47, General Administration (Services-D) Department.
These raised the horizontal reservation for eligible meritorious sportspersons to 3% in direct recruitment across government departments, local bodies and PSUs. The list of recognised sports and disciplines was expanded significantly — from roughly 29 to 65–67 — incorporating additional events such as carrom, tennikoit, tennis-ball cricket, tug-of-war, yoga and others. Priority rankings and eligibility criteria for achievements (international, national, inter-university, state-level) were also revised. Critically, the new framework allowed filling of sports-quota posts in a manner that reduced or eliminated the requirement for the full competitive written examination (TET/DSC) that the vast majority of candidates faced.
These orders were incorporated into the Mega DSC-2025 recruitment rules. A separate sports-quota notification invited applications for approximately 421 teacher posts (primarily Physical Education and related categories) under the 3% quota. Overall, Mega DSC-2025 targeted roughly 16,347 teaching posts; more than 3.3–3.36 lakh candidates applied. The main process used a computer-based test managed by TCS. Sports-quota selections were handled through priority ranking of sporting achievements and certificate verification by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh and recognised federations.
(Note: Reports indicate that G.O.Ms.No.47 was later modified or replaced by a subsequent order restoring stronger examination requirements, yet the sports-quota appointments under the April 2025 framework proceeded and remain the centre of controversy.)
The Mega DSC-2025 process and the weight of allegations
Serious allegations have been raised about the integrity of the process. Key claims include:
- The timing and content of the April 2025 government orders enabled preferential or “backdoor” entries under an expanded and diluted sports list, bypassing the written test faced by over three lakh candidates.
- Expansion of eligible disciplines and alleged shifts in priority ranking opened the door to hastily formed associations and lower-credibility certificates.
- Use of fabricated or dubious sports certificates. Specific examples cited include candidates with no genuine sporting background securing posts on the basis of allegedly forged national-level certificates (including cases reported from districts such as Eluru).
- Broader process irregularities: compromise in question-paper handling (including involvement of outsourcing or contract staff), non-publication or selective communication of full merit lists (SMS-only notifications to selected candidates), rank manipulation, disappearance or alteration of data, and claims that posts were sold (with reported figures circulating around ₹15 lakh in some instances).
- Conflict-of-interest issues, including outsourcing employees or insiders securing high ranks, abrupt changes in key officers, and concentration of decision-making outside traditional District Selection Committee structures.
- Alleged violations of roster norms, local-candidate preferences under Presidential Order principles, and implementation of horizontal reservations in ways that displaced higher-merit candidates.
Unemployed candidates and opposition voices have demanded immediate public release of all sports-quota certificates and selection details for the approximately 421 posts, along with a full independent inquiry. Court petitions, sustained public criticism and detailed examples of alleged irregularities have kept the issue alive for months. Following Pradhan’s resignation, the call for the state Education Minister to accept similar moral responsibility has intensified.
Government and official response — and why it remains insufficient
Official briefings by the Special Chief Secretary (Services), School Education Secretary Kona Sasidhar, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh officials and others have rejected the allegations as false, baseless and politically motivated. Their principal points are:
- Mega DSC-2025, including the sports quota, followed Supreme Court guidelines, G.O.Ms.No.77 and related reservation norms. Vertical and horizontal reservations were implemented correctly; sports and disability quotas were adjusted within candidates’ social categories.
- Sports-quota selections were made strictly on merit through priority rankings of verified achievements. Every certificate was scrutinised through recognised sports associations, national federations, universities and accredited bodies. Detected fake certificates would result in cancellation of selection and legal action.
- The main examination was a secure TCS-managed computer-based test with randomised papers. Approximately 382 candidates were selected under the sports quota.
- Horizontal reservation implementation can result in some lower-ranked candidates (within their category) being called for verification; this is not irregularity.
- Courts have cleared aspects of the process in multiple petitions. Legal action has been threatened against those spreading misinformation.
These responses, however, leave the central questions unanswered. Why were the sports-quota rules rewritten and the list of eligible disciplines dramatically expanded precisely when Mega DSC was underway? Why has the full list of selected candidates’ sporting credentials and verification reports not been placed in the public domain for independent scrutiny? Why do specific, named examples of alleged forged certificates and process compromises continue without detailed, case-by-case public rebuttal? Why were outsourcing staff given sensitive roles in paper handling? Assertions of transparency have not been matched by the level of disclosure required to restore confidence among more than three lakh aspirants.
Teacher recruitment in Andhra Pradesh remains high-stakes. Government teaching posts are among the most sought-after secure jobs, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. Decades of delayed or contested DSCs and recurring questions about examination integrity have already eroded public trust. The sports-quota expansion is part of a broader effort to promote sporting excellence through incentives and reservations. Whether the 2025 changes genuinely advanced that goal or created exploitable loopholes is the core factual dispute. Independent verification of the selected candidates’ certificates, full public release of ranked lists with sporting credentials, and a transparent audit of the examination process and data handling are essential.
The clear conclusion: Nara Lokesh must resign
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned because the integrity of a national entrance examination had been compromised and public trust had collapsed. The same standard of accountability applies in Andhra Pradesh. Nara Lokesh is the minister directly responsible for School Education and the Mega DSC-2025 process. Under his watch the sports-quota rules were rewritten, the list of eligible disciplines was sharply expanded, hundreds of posts were filled under a preferential pathway that bypassed the written test faced by the vast majority of candidates, and serious, detailed allegations of fake certificates, rank manipulation, selective opacity and process compromise have been allowed to persist for months.
Denials and claims of political motivation are not a substitute for accountability. When the future of more than three lakh young people and the credibility of the state’s teacher recruitment system are at stake, the Education Minister cannot remain in office while these questions remain unresolved. The only honourable course — consistent with the standard set by the Union minister — is for Nara Lokesh to resign immediately, accept moral responsibility, and clear the path for a time-bound, independent inquiry with full public disclosure of every sports-quota certificate and selection record.
The unemployed youth who prepared for years, and the people of Andhra Pradesh, deserve nothing less. Nara Lokesh must resign.
