To develop Tamil Nadu, education in native language should be promoted: Anna University VC

The Vice-Chancellor said people should first learn and promote their mother tongue and then learn other languages. 

Anna University Vice-Chancellor R Velraj said students should be taught in mother tongue as they would learn better if they study subjects such as engineering in their regional language. As per a report published in The New Indian Express, while speaking at a book exhibition held at the university, Velraj said technical courses such as engineering are taught in mother tongue in countries such as Germany, Japan and Russia and people there have been excelling in the field. 

“Learning professional courses such as engineering in Tamil will help students become better professionals,” he said and added that in order to develop Tamil Nadu, education in native language should be promoted. 

A recent survey conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) revealed that nearly 44 per cent of students wanted to study engineering in their mother tongue, with Tamil and Hindi being the most-preferred choices. 

The Vice-Chancellor said people should first learn and promote their mother tongue and then learn other languages. He said educational institutes, including government schools, must promote mother tongue. 

Offline classes to begin in few weeks: VC 

On the occasion, Velraj also said in-person classes for first-year students would start in a couple of weeks. 

The university has doubled the internal assessment weightage for awarding marks from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. As per the new regulation, theory courses with laboratory components will have 50%:50% weightage for end-semester exams and internal assessment. For laboratory courses, it will be 60% weightage for internal assessment in end-semester exams. 

The new regulation also allows students to take a study break for up to a year for job or entrepreneurship and has scrapped a 2017 rule that mandated students to compulsorily complete arrears in four attempts. Students can also do up to two online courses in a semester against one course under current rule. The university is also planning a major overhaul of its syllabus from next year to equip students as per industry needs. 

Read more: 

• Allot seat to Dalit boy within 48 hours: SC to IIT Bombay 
• IIT Madras finds key factors that empower women entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu 
• Admissions open for BE/BTech honours programme at VTU