The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Government will consider memorials for Tamil scholars'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 08, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Government will consider memorials for Tamil scholars'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, APRIL 7. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today said the Government will consider the requests made by members for setting up memorials for Tamil scholars including U.V. Swaminatha Iyer and Pandithurai Thevar.

Shortly after the Education Minister, C.Ve.Shanmugam, replied to the debate on the demand for grants to the Tamil Development-Culture department, members including V.K. Lakshmanan (Congress), V. Sivapunniayam (Communist Party of India), G.K. Mani (Pattali Makkal Katchi) and D. Sudarsanam (Congress), came out with suggestions on measures to perpetuate the memory of Tamil scholars and scientists, besides ensuring early completion of the etymological dictionary project.

Mr. Lakshmanan said the late Swaminatha Iyer played a major role in the retrieval of palm manuscripts of ancient Tamil literature including the ones belonging to the Sangam age.

Instead of merely garlanding his statue every year on his birth anniversary, the memory of the Tamil scholar, who was affectionately called `Thamizh Thaatha,' should be perpetuated for making the greatness of the classical language known to the world.

Mr. Sudarsanam pleaded with the Government to establish memorials for the famous scientists, C.V. Raman and Chandrasekar, who were students of the Presidency College in Chennai.

`Nationalise works

of scholar'

Mr. Sivapunniyam urged the Government to nationalise the works of Tamil scholar and doyen of the Communist movement in the State, P. Jeevanantham. A demand to establish a fitting memorial for Pandithurai Thevar, who founded the fourth Tamil Sangam in Madurai, was also raised in the House.

Intervening, the Chief Minister said all these demands would be considered by the Government.

Equipment for schools

Announcing new schemes to be implemented in the Education Department during 2005-2006, the Education Minister said science equipment would be provided for 50 high schools (HS) and 100 higher secondary schools (HSS) at a cost of Rs.90 lakhs, teaching appliances worth Rs.30 lakhs would be supplied to the HS and HSS and Rs. 37.50 lakhs would be earmarked for increasing library access for 130 HS and 96 HSS. The Government would establish English language teaching laboratories for 200 HSS and 110 HS at a cost of Rs.1.50 crores.

Mr. Shanmugam said 15,670 of the about 20,000 affected students of de-recognised teacher training institutes had already completed training.

Another batch of 3,576 students had undergone training during 2004-2005. As many as 3,000 candidates would be trained during 2005-2006, he added.

Special literacy programme for women would be launched in 43 educationally backward blocks during the current financial year with a financial allocation of Rs.43 lakhs, he said.

Ex-MLAs mourned

The Assembly today mourned the death of former members V. Krishnamoorthy and R.S.Sridhar.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu