Sanskrit for All campaign soon

Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit will soon embark on a Sanskrit for All initiative.

The project has found place in the varsity budget for 2018-19 approved by the Syndicate. It is part of the ongoing Sanskrit popularisation programmes rolled out by the authorities.

The budget has earmarked ₹1 crore for Sanskrit programmes. Sanskrit classes will be held in three select schools under each educational sub-district in the State. Sanskrit teachers will be appointed in these institutions to conduct classes. Select students in upper primary, high school and higher secondary sections will receive Sanskrit scholarship.

The varsity will also organise district-level one-day Sanskrit meetings and a Sanskrit Sandesha Yatra from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod. Vice Chancellors of Sanskrit varsities will participate in a three-day meet as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of the varsity.

The budget has earmarked ₹25 lakh towards a jubilee welfare fund for treatment of students and meeting emergencies. The contributions from the employees will also be collected towards this fund. An international training centre will be set up as part of the jubilee initiatives.

The varsity will start offering massive open online courses in Sanskrit from the new academic year. It will conduct orientation and refresher courses for Sanskrit teachers in the State.

Green campaign

An estimated ₹25 lakh will be utilised for implementing the government’s Haritha Keralam project. New study centres on Buddhism, Jainism, traditional Sanskrit learning, Rabindranath Tagore, and P. Govindapillai will be set up by the varsity. Job fairs will be held annually. The monthly contingency fund for researchers has been hiked to ₹5,000.

Students of undergraduate programmes, who are learning Sanskrit, will get ₹500 monthly scholarship. Women’s hostels will come up at regional centres of the varsity in Kalady, Koyilandy, Tirur, and Ettumanoor. An open air auditorium will be set up on the Kalady main campus. It will also have a quarters for faculty members and a hostel for boys. Solar power projects will be set up at all regional centres.

Around 50 acres will be identified to develop the main campus at Kalady. Other projects included in the budget include community radio on Kalady campus, new auditorium at Kalady using RUSA fund, academic block at the Tirur regional centre, and smart classrooms at all centres. Nearly 25 books will be published on the silver jubilee year. Research journals will be brought out by research departments. The digitalisation of the examination and administrative wing will also be carried out in 2018-19 period.