The Hindu : Front Page : Now Hindi attracts more students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 02, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Now Hindi attracts more students

M. Balaganessin

Career prospect is an inspiration

TIRUCHI: Parents have started looking beyond the `two-language' formula, if a rising number of students enrolled with the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, based at Tiruchi, is any indication.

Dwindling job prospects within the State have prompted parents to initiate their wards into making them study Hindi right from standard III. The Sabha, which has jurisdiction over the entire State, barring Chennai, has 1.03 lakh students on its rolls, taking different examinations — Parichay, Prarthamic, Madhyama, Rashtrabasha, and Praveshika. Significantly, a 90 per cent increase in enrolment has been registered over the years since 2001.

A trend conspicuous is the desire of parents to admit their children into these courses at a young age. Till recently, parents of higher secondary students were keen on enrolling their wards with the Sabha, with an eye on their career progression. The Sabha attributes the rising enrolment to the eagerness of parents to widen the scope of job opportunities for their wards. "Parents now look at Hindi as a right avenue for career prospects across India, particularly in the Hindi belt," said the Sabha secretary, C.N.V. Annamalai.

A phenomenal rise is being witnessed in the Sabha's `Parichay' examination over the years. From a mere 5,000, the number of students in pursuit of this primary of all examinations exceeded 25,000 this February. In Tiruchi district alone, the number of pupils increased from 500 a few years ago to 3,453.

As the Sabha treasurer, B. Chinnayan, a senior Hindi Pracharak, said, "Many schools have included Hindi in the list of optional second language, to expand their career avenues."

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