Though Marathi is the official language of our state, Nagpur University (NU) does not seem to agree. A new syllabus has been introduced for law faculty at NU and students who enrolled in the third year were surprised to see Marathi listed as a foreign language.
"In our third year we have to choose a foreign language and only two options are given by the NU. One is French and the other Marathi," said a student Rahul Jha (name changed). When TOI visited the campus, teachers confirmed the development and said that according to the new syllabus the state's official language has categorized Marathi as a foreign language for academic purpose.
A teacher said, "It is not listed as a second language but as a proper foreign language. It is an irony that Marathi is called a foreign language in Maharashtra." If you thought this was odd, then wait till you hear the explanation by the NU. Asked if the listing is a technical error, NU claimed there was no mistake.
Sanjay Bahekar, NU spokesperson, said, "Yes, Marathi will have to be called a foreign language as many foreign students come to Nagpur for studying law. For them, Marathi will obviously be a foreign language."
Even this bizarre reply would be ok if only foreign students were allowed to study Marathi as foreign language but that is not the case. Jha said, "We can also enrol for Marathi even though it certainly is not foreign to us. I have opted for French as I studied it in high school and believe it is a scoring subject."
Bahekar suggested that TOI speak to the academics department but there was no response from them despite numerous calls. Another university official said this was certainly not an oversight, but "goes to show that not enough thought was given while preparing the academic structure". The official added, "The new syllabus has been introduced from this year only so there were bound to be some hiccups but this is beyond me. The NU could have simply used the term 'second language' and then given various options to students. The fact that they used the term 'foreign language' is shocking. Also, the students don't have much choice as they have to choose either Marathi or French."
Student Jha further added that Marathi's study materials are prepared for an undergraduate level of study and while French has some basic learning chapters, it progresses very rapidly to a higher level within the same book. The teacher at law college agreed partially with Jha and said that the French study material "does take into account that students have no background in French and is designed accordingly but Marathi is taught at a level consistent with under graduate studies."
"In our third year we have to choose a foreign language and only two options are given by the NU. One is French and the other Marathi," said a student Rahul Jha (name changed). When TOI visited the campus, teachers confirmed the development and said that according to the new syllabus the state's official language has categorized Marathi as a foreign language for academic purpose.
A teacher said, "It is not listed as a second language but as a proper foreign language. It is an irony that Marathi is called a foreign language in Maharashtra." If you thought this was odd, then wait till you hear the explanation by the NU. Asked if the listing is a technical error, NU claimed there was no mistake.
Sanjay Bahekar, NU spokesperson, said, "Yes, Marathi will have to be called a foreign language as many foreign students come to Nagpur for studying law. For them, Marathi will obviously be a foreign language."
Even this bizarre reply would be ok if only foreign students were allowed to study Marathi as foreign language but that is not the case. Jha said, "We can also enrol for Marathi even though it certainly is not foreign to us. I have opted for French as I studied it in high school and believe it is a scoring subject."
Bahekar suggested that TOI speak to the academics department but there was no response from them despite numerous calls. Another university official said this was certainly not an oversight, but "goes to show that not enough thought was given while preparing the academic structure". The official added, "The new syllabus has been introduced from this year only so there were bound to be some hiccups but this is beyond me. The NU could have simply used the term 'second language' and then given various options to students. The fact that they used the term 'foreign language' is shocking. Also, the students don't have much choice as they have to choose either Marathi or French."
Student Jha further added that Marathi's study materials are prepared for an undergraduate level of study and while French has some basic learning chapters, it progresses very rapidly to a higher level within the same book. The teacher at law college agreed partially with Jha and said that the French study material "does take into account that students have no background in French and is designed accordingly but Marathi is taught at a level consistent with under graduate studies."
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