CHENNAI: You can soon learn the Tholkappiyam from the comfort of your home as the University of Madras is planning to launch a series of video lectures on the Swayam Prabha DTH.
The series is part of the varsity's initiative to offer video lectures of undergraduate and postgraduate Tamil lessons in the wake of the pandemic and lockdown. "We started identifying the lessons common to various universities in the state. We wanted this broadcast to benefit a large number of students. Therefore we are starting with Tholkappiyam," said S Gowri, the Vice Chancellor of the university.
He added that the varsity will identify more such common lessons and record them in the coming days for broadcast. "We will put out 35 modules of video lectures, each lasting 30-45 minutes," said Gowri.
An agreement to this effect was signed with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras on Monday. Swayam Prabha is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting high-quality educational programmes on a 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite.
Gowri said that every day four hours of new lectures will be broadcast and shall be repeated six times each day. On Sunday, all six modules shall be broadcast back to back.
He said that apart from incumbent teachers, retired Tamil professors too will record the lessons at the NPTEL recording studio at IIT-M. "Teachers shall be remunerated Rs 5,000 for every half hour lecture and will also be given a DVD of their course at the completion of the module," added Gowri.
The decision is part of a larger initiative to create a 'Digital University' where all lectures are available digitally, he said, adding that eventually distance education students will simply be given a DVD or a link to stream lectures instead of textbooks.
"Students will have a live experience. They won't have to simply learn from books," said Gowri.