Establishment of Telugu Akademi
The logical corollary of establishing States on linguistic basis is to see that the language of the people is used in all spheres.
The the combained state of Andhra Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on 20-9-1955 favouring Telugu as medium of instruction of the State. The then Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituted a Committee in 1957 under the Chairmanship of the then Speaker Sri A. Kaleswara Rao to prepare a glossary of legislative, legal and administrative terminology. The Government appointed a Special Officer in 1959 to examine the problem of introducing Telugu as Official Language of the State at Taluk level in the first instance. Subsequently, Official Language Act (Act 6 of 1966) came into force declaring Telugu as the Official Language of the State.
The Government later appointed a Committee under the Chairmanship of Sri J.P.L.Gwynn, I.C.S (Retd.), the then Second Member of the Board of Revenue to suggest ways and means of development of a Regional Institute. This Committee recommended the establishment of a State Institute of Telugu on the lines of Central Institute of English at Hyderabad. The objects of this institution have been enumerated as under:
- Teaching Telugu to non-Telugu knowing persons
- Modernising the language
- Making Telugu as medium of instruction in the Universities
The Telugu Akademi has been constituted vide G.O.Ms.No.1255(Edn.) dated 12th June, 1968 (Annexure IV) and it is under administrative control of Higher Education Department, under the guidance and Directors of Board of Governors of Telugu Akademi. The constitution of the Board is as follows:
| Minister for Higher Education (ex-Officio) | Chairman |
| Minister for Higher Education (ex-Officio) | Vice-Chairman |
| Secretary to the Government of Telangana, Finance Department or his Nominee (ex-officio) | Member |
| Secretary to the Government of Telangana, Finance Department or his Nominee (ex-officio) | Member |
| Commissioner of Collegiate Education (ex-officio) | Member |
| Secretary, Board of Intermediate Education (ex-officio) | Member |
| Secretary, Board of Intermediate Education (ex-officio) | Member |
| Director of Technical Education, Government of Telangana (ex-officio) | Member |
| Director of Technical Education, Government of Telangana (ex-officio) | Member |
| Nominee of the University Grants Commission (ex-officio) | Member |
| Chairman, Official Language Commission (ex-officio) | Member |
| Four persons nominated by the Government of Telangana | Member |
| Director of the Telugu Akademi (ex-officio) | Member-Secretary |
The establishment of Telugu Akademi has coincided with the Government of India direction to establish State Institute of languages with a view to promote the development of the Regional Language of the State so that it grows rapidly in its richness and functional efficiency and becomes an effective means of communicating modern knowledge.
The Government of the India suggested to establishment of three departments in the institution, viz., the Department of Terminology and Production of Literature, the Department of Orientation and Training and the Department of Research and Survey. They have also suggested the staff pattern, qualifications required and the scale of pay to the personnel. In order to make the above institution function effectively the Government of India have agreed to finance the scheme with a non-recurring grant of rupees one crore spread over a period of six years (Annexure V & VI).
The Akademi started functioning with a Special Officer and skeleton staff from 6th August, 1968. Later the Special Officer has been redesignated as Director of the Akademi in August 1970.
In accordance with the decision of the Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of the State held in the 1969 to have a common syllabus for Intermediate course, the task of preparing and publishing textbooks for the academic year 1969-70 was entrusted to the Telugu Akademi. Afterwards, when it was decided to introduce Telugu as medium of instruction at Degree level also, the Akademi was again entrusted with the publication of textbooks for the Degree courses as well.
The Akademi has three different departments viz., the Research and Survey, the Teaching and Training and the Publication.