And it gets worse by Class IX, where just 37% can handle math at grade level. This isn’t just about grades; it’s about what happens when students enter competitive exams or government job markets. Weak basics mean weaker futures. The NITI Aayog report silently sounds the alarm: if foundational learning doesn’t improve, the pipeline of skilled, exam-ready youth will shrink. And with Telangana’s youth population growing, this gap could become a crisis. The real question? Are government-run learning programs actually helping; or just checking boxes? Because no amount of exam coaching can fix what wasn’t built in Class III.