Telangana set to make Telugu mandatory in all schools

The Telangana government has mandated the inclusion of Telugu as a compulsory subject for students in classes 1 to 10 across all boards, including CBSE, ICSE, and IB, starting from the 2025-26 academic year.

A government order specifies that the syllabus for classes 9 and 10 will feature a simplified version of the language to accommodate non-Telugu-speaking students.

This change aims to make the language more accessible for all students, especially those whose native language is not Telugu, according to a government release.

"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,” reads the order.

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

The order is in line with the Telangana (Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Telugu in Schools) Act of 2018, which sought to implement Telugu education in government, Zilla Parishad, Mandal Parishad, aided, and board-affiliated schools.

Aiming to encourage the use of the state's native tongue, the action was taken years after the Telangana (Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Telugu in Schools) Act was established by the state government in 2018.

The purpose of the act was to make Telugu a compulsory subject in all state schools, including those supported by the government's Zilla Parishad, Mandal Parishad, and connected with the CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards.

However, the previous BRS government did not properly apply the statute throughout the state, according to the official announcement.

The current Congress government has made the decision to enforce the statute strictly.

The action follows MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, warning the union government that the state was prepared for another "language war" against what it described as the National Education Policy 2020's imposition of Hindi.

Highlighting efforts to enforce the three-language ban, actor-turned-politician Ranjana Natchiyaar resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party's primary membership on Feb 25.

In her resignation letter, she attributed her disappointment with the BJP to "the imposition of the three-language policy," "hatred towards the Dravidian ideology," and the disregard for Tamil Nadu.

A Revanth Reddy, the chief minister of Telangana, criticized the National Education Policy (NEP) earlier this month, calling the government's attempt to select vice-chancellors "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."

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.

Speaking at a press conference, Pradhan clarified that states are not being forced to adopt any particular language by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

He emphasized that while raising educational standards to international norms is the main goal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, it must also have Indian roots.