Telangana Govt Directs All CBSE, ICSE, State-board Schools To Make Telugu A Mandatory Subject – News18

Last Updated:February 25, 2025, 21:22 IST

Starting from the 2025–26 academic year, all schools affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards must include Telugu in their curriculum for classes 1 through 10, the Telangana govt said

The Telangana school education department has issued a notification making Telugu a compulsory subject in schools across the state. Starting from the 2025–26 academic year, all schools affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards must include Telugu in their curriculum for classes 1 through 10.

To accommodate students from other states, schools are permitted to offer a ‘simpler Telugu’ curriculum. While the decision to make Telugu mandatory was originally passed in 2018, implementation across the state has been inconsistent until now.

The Telangana government stated that the previous administration had failed to implement a 2018 order mandating Telugu as a compulsory subject across schools in the state.

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The ongoing controversy over Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu continues to fuel tensions between the ruling DMK and the BJP. The DMK, led by MK Stalin, alleges the Centre is pushing Hindi, sparking a war of words. The Centre denies these allegations. Stalin, however, remains firm in his stance against any perceived threat to the Tamil language and culture. This issue has long been a sensitive one in Tamil Nadu, with a history dating back to the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. BJP state chief Annamalai criticizes the DMK’s opposition to the NEP 2020, which mandates a three-language education system including Hindi. He argues that this creates a divide among students and emphasizes that while Tamil language and pride are paramount, respecting other languages like Hindi is also important. To garner support for their position, the BJP plans to launch a signature campaign on March 1.