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Parents to protest against mandatory Telugu in Telangana schools

Parents plan to protest at Dharna Chowk on 5 April under the banner "Freedom to Choose Language," voicing concerns that mandating Telugu as a second language will negatively impact board exam students

Saicharan Sana

Published Apr 05, 2025 | 12:05 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 05, 2025 | 12:05 AM

Parents to protest mandatory Telugu implementation in Telangana schools (AI generated image)

Parents to protest mandatory Telugu implementation in Telangana schools (AI generated image)

Synopsis: Telangana mandated Telugu as a compulsory subject for all school boards from the 2025–2026 academic year. In response, parents, concerned about its impact on board exam students, plan a protest under the banner “Freedom to Choose Language” at Dharna Chowk on April 5. They argue the sudden change will negatively affect students’ exam performance

On 25 February, the Telangana government issued a memo under the Department of School Education mandating Telugu as a compulsory subject across all school boards, including CBSE, ICSE, and IB, from the 2025–2026 academic year. As the directive awaits formal implementation, discontent brews among parents.

Protesting under the banner “Freedom to Choose Language,” they plan to gather at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on 5 April, raising concerns over the abrupt imposition of Telugu and its impact on students facing board exams.

Protest at Dharna Chowk

The parents have decided to protest this decision under the banner “Freedom to Choose Language.” Taking to the street, they are set to protest in unison at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on 5 April. Their primary contention with the government’s decision is its potential impact on tenth and twelfth class students who will take their board exams. They believe switching the Second Language to Telugu without any prior experience would lead to poor results in the examinations.

To add to their concerns, several schools in Hyderabad have scrapped Second Language options like Hindi and Urdu. Instead, they are now enforcing Telugu as the only second language from the academic year 2025-2026.

Parents assert that they should have the freedom to choose their children’s Second Language. Furthermore, they warn that inaction will result in a larger protest and legal battle in June, when the academic year begins. Instead of an immediate implementation of Telugu, they propose it first be introduced as their Third Language. They believe this would allow for the introduction of the language in a phased manner, making the transition easier. 

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Telangana makes Telugu compulsory subject

On 25 February, the Government of Telangana issued a memo under the Department of School Education. They informed that Telugu would be made a compulsory subject under the CBSE, ICSE, IB and other board-affiliated schools in Telangana. To that effect, they have replaced Singidi (standard Telugu) with Vennela (Simple Telugu).

This syllabus follows the CBSE curriculum. The government stated that the BRS regime was not successful in the implementation of Telugu in schools. However, they reiterated their commitment to implement the language statewide. 

However, it must be noted that the same has not translated into the Government order yet. It remains a department memo awaiting implementation with an expected to begin with the academic year 2025-2026.

(Edited by Ananya Rao)

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