Telugu loses sheen in private schools

Visakhapatnam: Telugu language, which flourished in the State for centuries, is dying due to a plethora of reasons. Though many reasons are attributed, experts are blaming the managements of private schools for focusing more on English language.

• Experts blame the managements of private schools for focusing more on English language
• Reports say around 15 per cent of students in corporate schools cannot read or write Telugu language
• District Education Officer G Nagamani says we have been requesting the managements of private schools to teach Telugu but they are ignoring our orders
• AP Department of School Education Principal Secretary Aditya Nath Das says the government will soon issue a GO making compulsory teaching of Telugu subject from Class
  

There are 62,108, schools in the State of which 45,256 are run by the government and remaining 16,793 by the private and corporate managements.

Though Telugu is being taught in government schools, the corporate schools are deliberately neglecting teaching of mother tongue. Several reports said around 15 per cent of students in corporate schools cannot read or write Telugu language.

Parents of students studying in private school, who love Telugu, are a bit worried and some of them hiring teachers to teach their children at home. N Sri Ramulu, a conductor in RTC, said his son studying Class V in one private English medium school, was found very weak in Telugu. “He is unable to recognise and identify the Telugu letters,’’ he said.

An officer in the Education department, K Prasad told this correspondent that he has been teaching Telugu to his son before going to bed because it was not being taught in the schools.

District Education Officer G Nagamani said that she too came to know that the Telugu language was not being taught in some schools, even though it’s one of the subject till Class X.

“We have been requesting the managements of private schools to teach Telugu to all the students but they are ignoring our orders,’’ said Nagamani.

Speaking to The Hand India, Andhra Pradesh Department of Language and Culture Director D Vijay Bhaskar expressed serious concern over the students in Telugu state unable to read and write in their mother tongue.

“It is very pathetic and shame to us. Lack of School Education department watch is one of the reason. We recommend for Telugu Language Development Authority in Andhra Pradesh for which the chief minister had approved. If it is implemented, there could be improvement in the future,’’ he added.

Andhra Pradesh Private and Aided Schools Managements Association president Ramakrishna Reddy said that all the private schools may not teach Telugu from Class I. But some schools are teaching Telugu from Class IV, he added.

“The parents want good marks and mount pressure on the teachers to develop English skills for which Telugu goes to second priority. We have requested the government to make Telugu compulsory from primary education level,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh Department of School Education Principal Secretary Aditya Nath Das said that the government will soon issue a GO making compulsory teaching of Telugu subject from Class I. “We are expecting a GO in another week,’’ Das told this correspondent.

By Jatlee Dontala