Telangana government’s Sanskrit plan for junior colleges sparks concerns

Telangana Gazetted Junior Lecturers Association-475 want Chief Minister to immediately revoke the move; fear Telugu may gradually disappear from intermediate curriculum

Hyderabad: Future of Telugu language in government junior colleges hangs in balance as the Intermediate Education Department has decided to introduce Sanskrit as a second language, setting up a direct alternative to Telugu.

The department recently asked district intermediate education officers and principals of government junior colleges to submit particulars, along with a detailed report with justification for introduction of Sanskrit subject as a second language. They have also been asked to submit details for sanction of junior lecturer posts in Sanskrit.

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This proceeding did not go down well with the government junior lecturers and Telugu language pandits, who fear that Telugu may gradually disappear from the intermediate curriculum. It may be noted here that the State government made Telugu subject mandatory for students till Class X in all schools irrespective of their affiliation to different boards.

At present, there are 430 government junior colleges and only eight of them in Hyderabad are offering Sanskrit as second language. English is the first language, while Telugu, Hindi or Urdu are taught as second language in government junior colleges. Since long, private and corporate junior colleges have been promoting Sanskrit, as it is believed to be an easy way to secure more marks.

Going with this trend, the department appears to have issued the proceeding asking the government junior colleges to assess and share staff requirements for introducing Sanskrit as the second language.

Expressing concerns over the government junior colleges students being dragged into the corporate college marks race, the Telangana Gazetted Junior Lecturers Association-475 wanted Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to immediately revoke the proceeding.

In a representation to the Chief Minister, association president Dr V Srinivas and general secretary Dr K Suresh said some corporate colleges switched over to Sanskrit as second language to boost students’ marks. “Students who never studied Sanskrit till Class X are pursuing it in the intermediate and scoring high marks without writing in the exams in Devanagari script,” they said.