CHANDIGARH: In a bid to help students acquire basic conversational skills in an Indian language of their choice, other than mother tongue, the students from classes VI to X in government schools of Punjab will be learning basics Telugu language during a week-long ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Summer Camp’, as per a direction issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy in Union Ministry of Education.
As per the instructions issued by State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) to all the district educational officers, the summer camp will be held in all government schools across the state from May 26 to June 5 in which students from Classes VI to X will participate and Telugu language will be taught.
"The main objective is to encourage students to learn one more Indian language of their choice, to promote multilingualism in a joyful and engaging manner, to help students experience the linguistic and cultural unity of Indian languages and to enable students to acquire basic conversational skills in an Indian language of their choice other than mother tongue,’’ reads the letter issued on May 23.
These Telugu classes will be conducted after the half-holiday on working school days and from 8 am to 11 am during the summer vacation from May 26 to June 5.
The schools have been allowed have multiple batches depending on number of students who are interested and the availability of teachers. While schools which have less than 75 students can hold this camp as a single group and others can form three groups with up to 100 students in total.
The basics will include greeting, expressions, alphabets, numbers, songs and conversations, names of local heroes, freedom fighters, armed forces, fruits, cuisines, vegetables and cultural appreciation in Telugu.
The language teachers of English, Hindi and Punjabi will be leading the students groups as being in-charge of the project. "The teachers can use YouTube links reference,’’ read the letter. While the learning materials for both print and digital could be sourced from institutions like CIIL Mysore, NCERT, Central Hindi Directorate, and Sanskrit Universities, among others.
The Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) criticized the move saying that over 3,800 students in Class XII and 1,571 students in Class X did not pass in Punjabi as their first language. Now, the department has issued orders to teachers to teach the Telugu language to students during summer camps. This will not work, said Vijay Pal of the association.