Action plan on Telugu in school education

HYDERABAD: Telugu Academy director A Manjulata submitted an action plan on "Telugu language in school education" to school education director Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday. The action plan has been prepared on the basis of discussions held on the study papers presented at a two-day seminar on "Telugu in the field of education- a study", which was organised on May 15 and 16.The action plan comprises of nearly 20 suggestions pertaining to Telugu in the field of education. Making Telugu a medium of instruction up to fifth standard, preparing learning materials and compiling dictionaries, link between school education and intermediate education and gradual increase in syllabi are some of the important suggestions incorporated in the action plan. The director said that as there was no unanimity in modern Telugu, the students should be given marks even if they write in regional dialects and teachers should be instructed accordingly, she said. "The language should be simplified and grammar should be taught only to develop language skills. Telugu should be modernised in accordance with the changing needs," she said. Higher education opportunities should be provided, on priority basis, to the students, who had completed school and intermediate education in Telugu medium, she added. Manmohan Singh said the government would implement all possible suggestions. He said that teachers would be involved in preparing syllabi. Replying to a question, he said since the texts books were ready for this year, revision of the syllabus was possible only for the next academic year. Andhra Pradesh State Council of High Education chairman Prof C Subba Rao, Potti Sriramulu Adhyayana Kendram coordinator K B Tilak and others also spoke.