Telugu-English divide pits rest against Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy remains resolute in his plan to shift to English-medium education in government schools in the state from the next academic year, a move that has arraigned opposition parties TDP, BJP and Jana Sena against him for “ignoring” the mother tongue, Telugu.
Last week, the YSR Congress government had issued an order for converting all Telugu- and Urdu-medium government schools into English-medium institutions.Aimed at “strengthening” government schools, the new plan will kick in for Classes I to VIII from academic year 2020-21 and for Classes IX and X from 2021-22.
However, the opposition parties said the move was unacceptable to them. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, too, joined TDP boss N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan in opposing the move and warned Reddy that this should not be done at the cost of ignoring Telugu. The CM retorted on Monday by asking those opposing his move to “introspect”. Taking a dig at the Vice-President and the TDP chief, he said: “I would like to ask Venkaiah Naidu garu what medium of instruction is followed at schools where his children and grandchildren studied? I would also like to ask Chandrababu Naidu where his son studied and where is his grandson going to study?”
The CM also criticised Pawan Kalyan, who had asked him to emulate his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhara Rao — known for aggressively protecting and promoting Telugu. Taking a jibe at the actor-turned-politician, who is thrice married, Jagan said: “I would like to know as to where his children are studying?”
Jagan said making students employable is imperative if one is interested in eradicating poverty. He pointed out that English is a global language, which can help the poor get jobs in a competitive world. He said the state’s illiteracy rate is 33% against the national rate of 27%. “And such a situation can be tackled only by focusing on primary education,” the CM said.
He said studying in English-medium schools should be the right of all sections and not the preserve of the elite. He also clarified that Telugu or Urdu would be made a compulsory subject in government schools although the medium of instruction would be English.
Ironically, as opposition leader, Jagan had vehemently opposed the then TDP government’s move introducing English as medium of instruction in a few municipal schools on a pilot basis in 2017.
BJP on Tuesday stepped up its attack on Reddy, asking him to apologise for his “uncharitable remarks made against the Vice-President”. State president Kanna Lakshminarayana said: “There must be an option to choose. Conversion of Telugu-medium schools into English-medium means there is no choice. We will not tolerate this.”
While some teachers’ associations had welcomed the move of the state government, others had demanded withdrawal of the order.
Federation of Andhra Pradesh Teachers Organisations (FAPTO), in a statement, said: “National and international committees on educational reforms recommended the government to continue primary education in regional languages. Teaching in your mother tongue will help primary grade students to flourish. But the Andhra Pradesh government has ignored these suggestions.