Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to make Telugu a compulsory subject in both public and private institutions in the state from Class I to XII.
In another major decision, the state government has decided that all public and private establishments and institutions in Telangana should display their organisation's names in Telugu on their signboards.
"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," a release from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's office said last night.
Rao made it clear that only those educational institutions that teach Telugu as a compulsory subject will be given recognition and permissions to function, it said.
For those opting for Urdu, it should be offered as an optional subject, according to the release.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday welcomed the government's decision to make Telugu a compulsory subject.
"I welcome the decision of the Telangana government to make Telugu a compulsory subject from first to 12th standards," Naidu said on a social networking site.
He expressed hope that other state governments would also take steps for promotion of mother tongue of their respective states.
"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.
The chief minister of Telangana has asked 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.
The government will be strict in implementing the policy that Telugu is taught as the compulsory subject and only the syllabus framed by the Sahitya Academy is taught, the chief minister said.
The government also said that "All the public and private establishments and institutions in Telangana should display their organisation's names in Telugu on their signboards."
"It is up to them to write their firm's names in other languages too. The CM has decided to pass resolutions on these two issues at the state cabinet meeting," the release said.
Welcoming the steps for promotion of Telugu language, the main opposition Congress' deputy leader in Telangana Legislative Council, P Sudhakar Reddy, however, said 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 said.
