Hyderabad, Oct 27th: The Andhra Pradesh government Tuesday ordered a probe into an English medium missionary school humiliating two students for speaking in their mother-tongue Telugu. The two Class III students were made to go around in the school with slates hanging from their necks declaring “I'll never speak Telugu” The incident occurred Monday at St.Joseph's English Medium School in Mydukur town of Kadapa district, evoking strong protests from parents and groups working for the promotion of Telugu.

School Education Minister D.Manikya Varaprasad Tuesday told that he had ordered a probe into the incident. 'If the management is found guilty, we will derecognize the school and if a teacher or principal is responsible, we will advise the management to sack him/her,' he said. The two kids' mothers, who carried lunch for them, said they saw the children going around the school premises with the slates hanging around their necks. The two told their mothers that their teacher was angry at them for not following her order to speak only in English during the class.

Mandal Education Officer Sukhavanam and other local officials rushed to the school and admonished the school authorities. Meanwhile, the management of the school has tendered an apology to the parents of the two students. It also promised to take necessary action to prevent such incidents in future. Telugu Bhasha Parirakshana Samithi, a group working for the protection and promotion of Telugu language, petitioned the State Human Rights Commission to intervene and take stern action against the school authorities. Telugu is the official language of Andhra Pradesh, which has a population of about 80 million.