Class 1 to 12 students studying in both public and private schools of Telangana will now have to study Telugu as a compulsory subject.
A release from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s office said, “The CM has instructed all the educational institutions in the state, both private and public, to teach Telugu as a compulsory subject from 1st to 12th standard.” He also made it clear that only those educational institutions that teach Telugu as a compulsory subject will be given recognition and permissions to function. For those opting for Urdu, it should be offered as an optional subject, according to the release.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu welcomed the government’s decision to make Telugu a compulsory subject. On a social networking site he said, ”I welcome the decision of the Telangana government to make Telugu a compulsory subject from first to 12th standards.”
Setting an example
“Other states must emulate the example of Telangana government in according priority to mother tongue,” he said. Naidu, who often spoke about his love for Telugu, expressed hope that the Andhra Pradesh government would take a similar decision at the earliest.
“I hope, Andhra Pradesh government will take a similar decision at the earliest,” he said.
(Read: National Talent Search Examination 2017: Registrations start for Class 10 students in Telangana at bse.telangana.gov.in)
Display organisation’s name in Telugu
In another major decision, the state government has decided that all the public and private establishments and institutions in Telangana should display their organisation’s names in Telugu on their signboards.
Sahitya Academy to prepare Telugu syllabus
Telangana CM has directed the Sahitya Academy to prepare a syllabus for the Telugu subject to be taught to students of primary, secondary and higher and intermediate classes. The syllabus fixed by the Sahitya Academy will be taught in all the educational institutions, the release said.
“The syllabus should be framed and textbooks should be printed at the earliest. The syllabus fixed by the Sahitya Academy will be taught in all the educational institutions and they are not expected to print textbooks and teach syllabus according to their whims and fancies,” it said.
Linguistic minorities should be kept in mind
Welcoming the steps for promotion of Telugu language, the main opposition Congress’ deputy leader in Telangana Legislative Council, P Sudhakar Reddy, however, said that linguistic minorities must be kept in mind in the implementation of the policy. “Telugu must be promoted. But, linguistic minorities need to be kept in mind. Moreover, it is better if the state government convenes an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. It should not be a unilateral decision,” Reddy told PTI.
Read: Soon, PM scholarship of Rs 75,000 per month will be awarded to talented students: Prakash Javadekar
[“Source-timesofindia”]
