The metro cities in India have become multicultural societies. In cities like Hyderabad, crores of people from other states, especially from North India, live. Many of the IT employees in multinational companies are not from the Telugu states. Hence, all private schools have introduced English medium, and most of CBSC-affiliated schools don’t teach Telugu medium at all.
In this backdrop, the Telangana government’s new rule to introduce Telugu language as compulsory in all schools for students up to class 10 from this academic year is drawing wild reaction.
Parents of the students are protesting the state government’s decision to make Telugu a mandatory second language.
As soon as Revanth Reddy’s government announced Telugu is compulsory as the second language in all schools, several schools reportedly removed alternative second language options such as Hindi and Urdu. This has made parents of the students who hail from other states restless. They say they might get transferred in a few years, and their children need to study in the schools where there is no Telugu taught.
This compulsory Telugu second language is a hindrance to the parents who frequently move to many cities as part of their jobs. They also claim that it poses a challenge for students who prepare for national-level board examinations.
Parents warned that the issue could intensify once schools reopen in June. Thousands of parents from Hyderabad have launched a coordinated campaign urging the state to reconsider the decision. They proposed that Telugu should be the third language and students should have the freedom to select their second language based on individual preference.