Urdu Academy set to launch online courses

NEW DELHI:  There is good news for Urdu lovers who want to learn the language. The Urdu Academy is planning to launch online courses after the pandemic forced suspension of the physical classes being run by the academy.

According to officials, the learning centres, which were closed in March, hadn’t been opened yet and possibilities to begin online courses are being explored given the circumstances.

The pandemic compelled us to shut the teaching centres where the academy was running certificate and diploma courses. We couldn’t reopen for various reasons. So, we are just trying to use this ‘opportunity’ to initiate digital learning. Modalities are being worked upon,” an official said.    

The academy runs Urdu learning centres to promote and spread the reach of Urdu, and to cater to the need of government offices. Professionals—artists, lawyers, police personnel, journalists, and government employees—can enrol themselves the certificate or diploma courses run by the academy. About 1,500 learners take admission in these courses every year. It also confers cash awards to three toppers.

As part of its digital initiative, the academy is also planning to digitise a rare collection of books in Dara Shikoh library at its headquarters. Efforts are also being made to prepare a digital catalogue so that users can easily check the availability of books.  

“We are also working on a proposal to prepare an online catalogue of books to facilitate the readers and research scholars. They will not need to visit the library physically to find out whether the book is available or not. They could just log on to our website and check. We have a good collection of rare books. We are making efforts to preserve them. We also have plans to digitise them,” said the official.   

For digitisation of books, the academy will soon start looking for an agency or it may seek assistance from Delhi Archives. The library has over 45,000 books and the academy intends to convert it into a National Urdu Library. It adds about 300 books every year to its collection.