Hyderabad: There seems to be a communication gap between the state govt and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) regarding which Telugu textbook schools must follow for class 9 students this academic year.
While the state govt recommended the Vennela textbook to be followed while learning Telugu as the second language, CBSE has been following the Singidi textbook for Telugu Telangana with subject code 089 for a long time. Singidi is considered difficult or advanced level, whereas Vennela is comparatively easy as it contains basic Telugu. This year too, Singidi is officially declared as the book to be followed by the board in its curriculum declared for the 2025-26 academic year for class 9 students.
“The problem is that a student whose second language was Hindi, Urdu, or any other subject until class 8 will not be able to cope if he has to study Singidi directly in class 9. However, Vennela will be very simple and will not be as per the standard of a second language,” said C Rekha Rao, principal of one of the CBSE schools in the city.
She pointed out that there is total confusion regarding the implementation of Telugu as it is not clear whether it should be a second, third, or compulsory subject or which textbook to follow. It is better for schools to wait and watch instead of hastily implementing and troubling students and their parents, she added.
Ameer Khan, chairperson of Hyderabad Sahodaya Schools Complex, which has all CBSE schools in the city as members, agreed with Rao. He said that the very fact that both the state and CBSE prescribed different textbooks shows that there is no coordination between them. Principals of CBSE schools said they have given a representation asking the state to clarify how they should implement Telugu — whether as a second, third, or compulsory subject — and have been waiting for a response.
They said that instead of implementing it for class 9 students this year, the govt should start with class 6 and implement Telugu for higher classes in a phased manner. Telugu teachers, meanwhile, also said that a student without any basics will not be able to study Singidi in class 9.
“I feel, if the state wants to implement Telugu as a second language, they should come up with a new book whose difficulty level is between Vennela and Singidi,” said P Krishna Padma, who was teaching Telugu for the last 29 years.