HYDERABAD: In an event, which had four-vice chancellors on the same dais, the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU)
on Wednesday formally launched 14 of the university press’ publications, both academic and literary. Prof S Satyanarayana, vice-chancellor, OU along with Prof P Prakash, vice-chancellor, Dr BR Ambedkar Open University, Prof N Gopi, former vice-chancellor, Telugu University, and Prof R Amritavalli, vice-chancellor, in-charge, EFLU, together launched the titles.
Forty-odd students, who had represented EFLU at different international conferences, seminars and foreign universities since 2008, were also felicitated. In a press conference prior to the event, VC Prof Amritavalli acknowledged that the campus has been politically disturbed since December 2009 and said, “dialogues are inevitable and debates are welcome...we are planning for more teacher-student interactions and we have already started the process. We have now recognized the achievements made by our scholars and are felicitating them for the first time in the university.”
The vice-chancellor also added that the students were being felicitated with the university’s own funds earned through sale of publications, consultancy services and conduct of non-formal courses.
Among the books released were literary works in English, French, German and Russian and five classics brought out in partnership with the Orient Blackswan.
Prof Paul Gunashekar, Dean of Publications, said, “with critical essays and interpretations, we intend to bring college students closer to classics”. The books, which include such titles as Wuthering Heights and Emma, will be available in the open market.
However, journals published by the university would be available on the EFLU campus. Other publications launched include a Russian translation of Telugu poems, Nanilu, by N Gopi, a German-English-Telugu dictionary, Russian Philology (occasional papers), a journal of language teaching and language studies titled Languaging, a compendium of literary terms in German titled ‘Kleines Kompendium’, and a story book for children titled Tubby.
All these publications, according to the dean of publications are part of the course work for students and researchers in the distance mode.