Tribhuvan University and its constituent colleges have seen a steady decline in the number of students opting for Sanskrit, Maithali, Hindi and Nepal Bhasa literature at Bachelors and Masters level.

TU offers Bachelors and Masters Degree courses in Sanskrit, Maithali, Hindi and Nepal Bhasa literature at more than 15 colleges across the country, most of the colleges have only two students each opting these courses. However, there are at least two permanent lecturers appointed for each course at every college.

Trichandra Multiple Campus, Ratna Rajya laxmi Campus and Padmakanya College in Kathmandu are having difficulty in finding even a single student for Sanskrit and Nepal Bhasa. Rector of Tribhuvan University Prof Sudha Tripathi said, “Students are free to choose what they want to study, we cannot force anyone to choose any particular subject. We, however, can go for proper management of these departments and lecturers across the country by centralising these classes at one particular college.”

Prof Narayan Gautam, head of the Central Department of Sanskrit at Tribhuvan University, opines that the government should introduce these languages at High school level. “While the colleges in western countries are giving high priority to Sanskrit language, we are burning our Sanskrit books, and how can expect our students to show interest in Sanskrit?” Prof Gautam added.

Head of the Central Department of Hindi language at Tribhuvan University Prof Sanjeeta Burma, however, expressed her confidence that the university would be able to attract more students in Hindi classes.

There are currently eight permanent lecturers for Sanskrit, 11 for Maithali, 13 for Hindi and 11 for Nepal Bhasa teaching at various constituent colleges of TU across the country, according to TU.

source: the himalayan times,10 october 2017