Sanskrit Language will be promoted in school and need not be made compulsory

Updated on: Monday, February 08, 2016

From quite sometime, concerned panels are discussing the ways in which Sanskrit can be promoted in schools. Recently, a meeting was held by a committee set up to discuss the revival of Sanskrit language formed by the HRD (Human Resource Development) Ministry. The meeting was headed by N Gopalaswami, former chief election commissioner.

According to newspaper reports, various distinct recommendations regarding the same have been made but it has also been made clear that the language need not be made compulsory in schools. Rather, the panel wants that under the three language formula, schools and examination boards should make sure that the language is taught and available to those who are interested.

Earlier, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had also asked the universities to provide suggestions regarding the spread and development of Sanskrit language from the school-level till the higher education level. Not only this, the universities were also notified by the commission on the need to encourage first and second degree levels of Sankrit-education in the study of subjects such as modern Indian languages, ancient Indian history, Indian philosophy, and Indology.

In order to make sure that the younger generation do not remain ignorant about Sanskrit, UGC Vice Chairman, H Devaraj penned letters to the vice chancellors of eighteen universities, reminding them the importance of Sanskrit as underlined in the 1986 New Education Policy. The committee which has a total of seven members, said that all Sanskrit Pathsalas and Vedic schools should be affiliated to some board like Maharishi Sandipani Veda Vidya Pratisthan of Ujjain.

According to the committee, if Sanskrit has to become popular, textbooks of all subjects -- science, mathematics, social sciences -- should be in Sanskrit. Also, institutions like National Institute of Open Schooling should conduct examinations in Sanskrit.

Former Chief Election Commissioner, N Gopalaswami had earlier taken up the chairmanship of a committee constituted by the Human Resource Development (HRD), which would assess all the schemes in place for the development of Sanskrit and Veda Vidya and review them accordingly.

Sanskrit Language will be promoted in school and need not be made compulsory

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