Overview

• The Union Ministry of Education has mandated a Telugu summer camp for students in classes 6 to 10 in Punjab government schools under the 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' initiative.
• Scheduled from May 26 to June 5, the camps aim to promote multilingualism and cultural unity by teaching basic Telugu, including conversational skills, cultural elements, and patriotic themes.
• Teachers' unions, including the Democratic Teachers Front, have criticized the initiative as impractical, citing high failure rates in Punjabi proficiency and a lack of teaching resources.
• The program requires physical classes, with teachers acting as nodal officers and a ₹30 per-student budget, but concerns persist about its impact on an already strained education system.
• Unions are demanding the program be made voluntary or withdrawn, emphasizing the need to prioritize core educational goals over additional language instruction.