[lg policy] India: Language a barrier no more, Sanskrit & German both to gain

[Harold Schiffman]

Language a barrier no more, Sanskrit & German both to gainTNN | Oct 6,
2015, 03.14 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Sanskrit-German imbroglio is all set to be resolved as India
and Germany signed a joint declaration of intent regarding teaching of
German as a foreign language in Kendriya Vidyalayas and promotion of four
Indian languages - Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Malayalam - in Germany.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Language-a-barrier-no-more-Sanskrit-German-both-to-gain/articleshow/49235679.cms
Highly placed sources said a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed
between HRD ministry and Goethe Institut where the details will be worked
out. "MoU will be signed in the next few months. The two sides are
discussing it now," a HRD source said. HRD officials said, "German can be
taught as an additional foreign language in KVs as per India's national
education policy. It will mean that German cannot be third language but can
be taken as an additional subject. Third language has to be any Indian
language in Schedule VIII of the Constitution." Officials said instead of
emphasizing only on Sanskrit, Germany has agreed to teach four Indian
languages on optional basis. "This is the perfect way forward," one source
said.

HRD officials say the declaration of intent has been arrived after months
of negotiations between the two sides. "There is no acrimony now," one
official said. Last year, India had refused to renew MoU between Kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangathan and Goethe Institute as it was discovered that German
was being taught as a third language instead of Sanskrit. Many Sanskrit
teachers of KVs were even sent to Germany for training in German. HRD had
claimed that MoU was signed during UPA's tenure without concurrence of the
ministry and was violative of national education policy as well as three
language formula. Later it was decided to renegotiate the MoU and various
options were discussed. One option was to teach German in class XI and XII.
Later, however, it was decided to widen the ambit and instead of turning it
into German vs Sanskrit, more Indian languages were offered for teaching.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Language-a-barrier-no-more-Sanskrit-German-both-to-gain/articleshow/49235679.cms



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