Phrases like guten tag (good morning) and gut, danke (fine, thank you) will now be heard in Delhi government schools. This is because, on April 5, Tuesday, an agreement was signed between Goethe Institute and the Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE) for offering courses on German language in the government schools of the national capital.
“We are committed to providing global exposure to all its students studying in Delhi government schools and giving flight to their dreams. As a part of our programme to introduce a prominent global language in government schools, German is one of the first languages that students will learn," Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, as per a report by the news agency PTI.
Sisodia, who also holds the portfolio of education, went on to explain how when it comes to learning a global language, it doesn’t only entail acquiring a new skill, but it also means that one gets a chance to associate with the culture of that country. This new partnership has opened up opportunities, both career and academic-wise, for Delhi government school students in the future, he said during the ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing.
The German Ambassador to India, Walter J Linder, appreciated DBSE for providing the opportunity to learn global languages to the students of state-run schools.
Walter J Lindner said, "This linguistic partnership with the Delhi government will open new horizons to culture, art, education and many other partnerships in future. Learning German will open routes to job opportunities for Delhi government school students in many EU countries, not just Germany".
During the probation period, the German language will be introduced in 30 schools under the Directorate of Education along with the Schools of Specialized Excellence (SoSEs).
Under this partnership, the faculty from Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan will train the students in communicative German language thereby, benefiting the students in strengthening their professional skills and encouraging them to explore a new culture.
Support and training will also be extended to the teachers at schools and those resource persons who will be taking up the job of teaching German language in DoE schools. Gradually, the teachers will be enabled to take over German language education all by themselves while Max Mueller Bhavan will essay an advisory role.
During the previous year, the German Embassy had reached out to the Ministry of Education in order to seek out possible ways to increase German lessons in all the Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) after taking note of the fact that students opting for the language had gone down. This drop also resulted in laying off 270 language teachers from the schools.
This implementation was taken by the Delhi Board of State Education, after the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan's decision to teach German outside the school two years ago.
