Official language commission insists on Telugu medium in schools

Commission Chairman keen on protecting Telugu from extinction

HYDERABAD: At a meeting here on Monday, when the Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation introduced English medium in all its schools up to Class II, the State Official Language Commission took a decision to ask the Government to compulsorily implement Telugu medium instead, up to Class X in its schools and those aided by it.

In another resolution, the commission sought the Government to insist on Telugu medium up to Class V in all corporate and convent schools in line with a GO issued earlier. The GO remained without implementation even now, the meeting noted, expressing concern over how these institutions were ignoring Telugu.

Corporate colleges

Regretting pampering English at the cost of Telugu, the commission, in another decision, asked the Government to make Telugu medium compulsory up to Intermediate level in corporate colleges from this year. It adopted a resolution against teaching of Sanskirt in these colleges just to enable students to score higher marks required for admission in the institutions like BITS Pilani.

The meeting, presided over by its chairman, A.B.K. Prasad, however, felt that if these institutions insisted on Sanskrit, it should be taught in Sanskrit only and with the use of Devanagari script for examination.

Mr. Prasad later told reporters that the commission had to take these steps to protect Telugu from extinction and to ensure collegiate education to rural background students who required Telugu medium.

Urdu implementation

The Chairman and K. Mallaiah, a member, sought to make light the criticism that the commission's insistence on Telugu medium in Government institutions would lead to social repercussions by confining the children of the poor to Telugu medium while those from the well-to-do sections invariably opted for English medium.

It was also decided at the meeting to sought implementation of Urdu in all Government and aided educational institutions and Government offices in the listed 14 districts where Urdu is the second official language. It sought immediate posting of Urdu translators and typists in each district.

Mr. Prasad said the commission had resolved to plead with MPs from the State to raise the issues only in Telugu in Parliament.

Courtesy: The Hindu

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Language panel fumes at English medium move

HYDERABAD: If the Andhra Pradesh Official Language Commission has its way, the Queen's language will be banished from the state. It's latest decree: No government-run English medium schools, all sign boards in the Secretariat to be in Telugu and members of Parliament from the state must only speak the 'Italian of the East' in the House.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Official Language Commission chairman A B K Prasad said the government's recent move to open English medium schools up to class X may sound deathknell for Telugu.

"There should be no English medium instruction up to SSC, and certainly not for classes I and II," Prasad and four other members of the commission said.

He feared that the move, if implemented, would lure away even those 10 per cent students who were pursuing education up to SSC in government-run Telugu medium schools. Poor and tribal students might give up learning Telugu in the craze for English medium education, Prasad added.

He also suggested to the government to make Telugu compulsory at the Intermediate level too. But if Sanskrit had to be allowed at this level, students should be asked to answer it in the Devnagari script.

The Commission chairman referred to an existing rule that states Telugu should be the medium of instruction up to class V, and asked the government to ensure that this rule was implemented strictly. He said the commission also wanted Urdu be taught in schools, colleges and government offices in the 14 districts where it is the second official language.

Also, the government should issue orders only in Telugu.

Prasad said the commission's plan to translate the Constitution into Telugu, which could be understood by every person, was strengthened by the finding that the Centre had given permission to the state in 2002 to translate the Constitution once again, after the one done in early 80s was found to be too tough to understand.

He said the commission had written to all MPs from the state to speak in Parliament only in Telugu. The government was also asked to display boards in the Secretariat first in Telugu and then in English.

Courtesy: The Times of India