The Telangana government has mandated the teaching of Telugu as a compulsory subject in all schools affiliated with various boards, including CBSE, ICSE, IB, and others, from the academic year 2025-26. This decision is a part of the Telangana (Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Telugu in Schools) Act, which was not fully implemented by the previous government due to various reasons.

The Act, which came into effect on March 30, 2018, was designed to ensure the compulsory teaching of Telugu in government Zilla Parishad, mandal parishad, aided schools, and those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards. However, the new government, after assuming office, resolved to implement the Act in its entirety and initiated steps accordingly.

The government held a meeting with the management of CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards to convey its decision. The decision was to introduce Telugu as a compulsory subject for 9th and 10th classes from the upcoming academic year.

Furthermore, the government ordered that Telugu be taught compulsorily from the 2025-26 academic year for Classes 1 to 10 in schools under CBSE, ICSE, IB, and other boards. In a bid to make the learning process easier for students, especially those whose mother tongue is not Telugu or who belong to other states,  decided to use the simple Telugu textbook 'Vennela' for conducting exams.

This move replaces 'Singidi' (standard Telugu) with 'Vennela' (simple Telugu) with code 089 as per the CBSE subject list (Language Group-L) for class 9th from the academic year 2025-26 and for the 10th class from the academic year 2026-27. The government's decision was based on a proposal from the Director of School Education, which was accepted.

The orders to replace 'Singidi' with 'Vennela' were issued by Yogita Rana, Secretary, School Education, Government of Telangana, on Tuesday.

This move by the  aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which aims to reduce academic pressure by offering students a chance to improve their scores. The NEP 2020 also proposes a major reform in the Class X examination system, introducing two board exams from the 2025-26 academic session. The first phase of exams is scheduled from February 17 to March 6, while the second phase will be conducted from May 5 to May 20.

Historically, similar initiatives have been taken by various state governments in India to promote regional languages. For instance, in 2017, thehad made Kannada a compulsory subject in all schools across the state, irrespective of the board to which they were affiliated. The move was aimed at promoting the local language and ensuring that students in the state had a strong foundation in Kannada.