Schools clueless on plan to implement Telugu subject

HYDERABAD: With the new academic session set to commence in the next 10 days, Telangana government is yet to advise school managements over implementation of Telugu as a mandatory subject.
Earlier this month, the Telangana school education department had issued an order, introducing Telugu as a compulsory subject up to intermediate level from 2018-19 academic year. But school managements claim there is no word on when the syllabus would be ready or when the textbooks would be available to them.
"We haven't received any communication from government yet.We are worried as introduction of Telugu for higher class students or those who come from other states without any guidelines will be a hassle in the ensuing academic year," said Maya Sukumaran, Principal of Gitanjali Devshala, suggesting that the government must introduce Telugu only at Class 1 or Class 6.
While Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has entrusted the job to frame the curriculum to a committee, consisting of officials from the Potti Sriramulu Telugu University and Telangana Sahitya Akademi, sources claim that not all is well in the deliberation being held in framing the syllabus for the subject.
According to sources, infighting between Telugu Sahitya Academy and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) over the content and sharing of the responsibility is the reason behind the delay.
"There is a friction among the committee members as to who will frame the content of the textbooks. While the chief minister wants the Telugu Sahitya Akademi to prepare the curriculum, the SCERT is the authorized body to do so," said an official, adding that topics such as Telangana festivals, moral values, life stories of people who have contributed towards literature and cultural values are expected to be a part of the curriculum.
With curriculum yet to be framed, distribution of textbooks, in all likelihood will not be made by June 1 when schools reopen after vacations.