Education, Careers & Professional News
Govt. to close down Sanskrit college
Source
hindu
Date
2005-06-17
Information
There appears to be few to speak up for the cause of Sanskrit. The Government has decided to close down one of the very few Sanskrit colleges it runs in the State, Sri Chamarajendra Sanskrit College at Chamarajpet in Bangalore.
For decades the college has been imparting knowledge of the ancient Vedas and Shastras. But today there is a fall in the number of takers for the courses offered by the college. However, the number of students in the college is not inconsiderable considering that there are a good number of departments in universities in the State with fewer than 10 students in the MA or M.Sc. courses.
So far the only organisation to protest against the move to close down the institution is Sanskrit Bharati.
The college, founded in 1940 by the then Dewan of Mysore, Sir Mirza Ismail, offers courses in the Vedas and the Shastras. About 190 students are on its rolls and it has 29 members of the staff. The Governments move to close down the college or merge it with Sri Maharaja Sanskrit College, Mysore, has come as a shock to the staff and received a lot of flak from Sanskrit scholars.
The Education Department discussed the issue of closing down the college at a meting held recently. The inadequate number of students for the various courses offered in by college is cited as the main reason for the Governments move.
The contribution of the college in the field of Sanskrit education is quite significant. Sri Balagangadharanath Swamy of Adichunchanagiri Mutt, Sri Shantaveera Mahaswamy of Kolada Mutt, Sri Shivarudra Swamy of Beli Mutt, Sri Shivapuri Swamy of Omkara Mutt, and scholars such as Srinivas Gopalacharya, Vidwan Ranganath Sharma and Vidwan N.T. Srinivas Iyengar were students of the college.
The college has invited applications for admissions for the current year. The Principal, B.L. Manjunath, says the college offers Prathama (three-year), Kavya (two-year), Sahitya (three-year) and Vidwat (five-year) courses. The Rigveda, Krishna Yajurveda, Shukla Yajurveda and Samaveda are taught in the college. There is no age bar or admission fee. Candidates who do not have any formal education can also join the preliminary classes.
A Vidwat course is equivalent to an MA degree. Unfortunately, there is no Government Order recognising the degrees provided by the college.
Satyanarayana Bhat of Sanskrit Bharati says the Government should set up a Sanskrit Directorate or Sanskrit University to give an identity to Sanskrit courses.
The 65-year-old college building requires major repairs and renovation. But it does not receive funds to maintain the building. The infrastructure is inadequate and this will have an adverse impact on the overall academic environment, say staff members.
A couple of years ago, a proposal was prepared for the construction of a hostel but no action has been taken, Mr. Bhat says.
Scholarships
The Government provides scholarships for students. But the amount is meagre: Rs. 47 for students of the Prathama course, Rs. 50 for the Kavya course and Rs. 150 for the Vidwat course.
To attract more students, the Government should provide facilities such as computer education and a good library the teachers say.