Patna University set to start courses in foreign, Indian languages

PATNA: Patna University (PU) is all set to launch language proficiency certificate courses in as many as 11 foreign and Indian languages from the next academic session commencing in July.
The foreign languages selected for the six-month certificate course are German, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese and Chinese. Indian languages to be taught under six-month certificate courses are Bangla, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu and Gujarati. The courses will be divided into two different sessions. Some courses will run in July-December session and some in January-June session.

PU English department teacher and chief coordinator of these courses Indiber Mukherjee said necessary preparations for running these courses smoothly have been made by the university. “Guest teachers for most language courses have already been selected. Classes will run at the post-graduate department of Bangla at Darbhanga House complex. Each course will have 40 seats and the fee will be Rs 5,000 for Indian languages and Rs 10,000 for foreign languages. Applications for admission to these courses will be invited soon,” Mukherjee said.

He added even though demand for youths having proficiency in foreign languages keeps on growing in the current phase of global economy, few institutions in state offer even a certificate or diploma course in foreign languages. Consequently, the aspirants are compelled to join institutions outside the state.

Academic qualifications in foreign languages helps youth in pursuing a career in areas such as tourism, entertainment, public relations, mass communication, international organizations, embassies, diplomatic service, publishing houses and BPOs. Skills in French, German, Russian, Chinese and more recently Japanese, Spanish and Korean are in great demand, he added.

The PU used to conduct certificate courses in French and German in the 1960s and 1970s. While PU’s English department teacher Devi Das Chatterjee used to teach French, the German wife of PU zoology teacher R K Sharan would engage classes in German. Later, geology teacher Parwati Sharma, who had done doctorate from France, engaged French classes.

The certificate courses in these foreign languages had to be shut due to a row over the rate of remuneration to the faculty in the early 1980s.

PU’s English department head Shiva Jatan Thakur said a career in foreign language is an attractive proposition for those who have a flair for languages. “With the globalisation of Indian economy when multinationals are coming to India and more and more companies are going for joint ventures abroad, the job scenario for those proficient in foreign languages has brightened,” he said.