Experts for making Sanskrit compulsory at schools

The suggestion was made at the fourth annual convocation of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan here.

Sanskrit education should be made more relevant by synthesising the best practices of gurukul system with modern democratic values, HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju said.

"Sanskrit should be made compulsory at least till Class IX and then optional at the upper levels so that children will read it leading to the development of the rich language," Chancellor of Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Mukundakam Sharma said.

His suggestion was supported by Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (RSS) Radhavallabh Tripathi.

He deplored the present system due to which the language is not generating much interest among students who are more inclined towards taking to foreign language programmes.

Sharma, who chaired an expert committee for development of the language, said the panel has suggested converting RSS into a centre of excellence.

Raju said the report has been received and recommendations are being considered for implementation. "Our government is fully committed to the growth and development of Sanskrit," he said and hoped RSS will develop into a world-class university.

RSS is a deemed university at present. It has been recognised as a Category 'A' institute by National Assessment and Accreditation Council.