Telangana govt enforces Telugu as compulsory subject in all schools

An official statement on Tuesday noted that the previous BRS government had not fully enforced the law due to unspecified challenges

The Telangana government has directed all schools, including those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards, to teach Telugu as a mandatory subject for students from Class 1 to 10 starting from the 2025-26 academic year. 

 

The order states, "Replacement of SINGIDI (Standard Telugu) with VENNELA (Simple Telugu) with code (089) as per the CBSE subject list (Language Group -L) for Class IX from the A.Y. 2025-26 & for the X class from the A.Y. 2026-2027."

 

"Director of School Education, Telangana, Hyderabad is requested to take necessary action in the matter, accordingly," it further said.

 

The order follows the Telangana (Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Telugu in Schools) Act of 2018, which aimed to enforce Telugu education across government, Zilla Parishad, Mandal Parishad, aided, and board-affiliated schools.

 

An official statement on Tuesday noted that the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had not fully enforced the law due to unspecified challenges.  The majority of schools in Telangana are government schools where Telugu instruction and learning is common. However, schools that come under non-state boards have largely not been teaching Telugu, according to media reports.   Govt order details 

As per the memo issued by Education Department Secretary Dr Yogita Rana, Telugu as a compulsory subject would be mandatory for Class IX and Class X students from the academic year 2025-26 and 2026-27, respectively.

 

To facilitate learning for students who are not native Telugu speakers, the government has introduced ‘Vennela,’ a simplified Telugu textbook. The curriculum aims to make Telugu learning easier for students from other linguistic backgrounds, including those who have migrated from different states for education.

 

'NEP not imposing any language'  Earlier this month, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy criticised the National Education Policy (NEP), claiming the Centre’s push to appoint vice-chancellors is “an attack on our culture”. He said, "Prime Minister Modi and the BJP have taken everything under their control, posing a major threat to democracy. It is time for the people of the southern states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry —  to unite."    Incidentally, Telangana’s decision to make Telugu compulsory has come at a time when neighbouring Tamil Nadu is opposing the National Education Policy (NEP) on the grounds that it "imposes" Hindi on school students.

 

Last week, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of raising "imaginary concerns" driven by political motivations.

 

Addressing a press conference, Pradhan added that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is not imposing any language on a state.

 

He emphasised that the primary essence of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is to bring global standards to education, and simultaneously, it has to be rooted in India.