No takers for Tamil course at Dravidian University

“There are two reasons why the number of applications got reduced this year. Students are unsure whether a Tamil degree from a University in Andhra will provide value in their state. Secondly, the students who are residing in the district borders are hesitant to come here and study. They are unaware of the value this course holds, they think instead of traveling so far to Andhra to obtain a master’s degree they can get in their place of stay,” he said.

The university’s Tamil department, which offers Masters, M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes, has a sanctioned intake of 20 students per year.

“Students who did their masters here are working in various departments in Tamil Nadu. There are ample facilities here, the TN government has built a state-of-the-art library this year at the cost of 4.5 crore rupees. For the past 13 years, the government is providing a full scholarship to students covering their education and lodging. Despite all these efforts, there is very little awareness about the programme,” Vishnukumaran said.

The head of department also feels that the university could have extended the admission date until July like last year instead of closing it by June. “We have decided to run an awareness campaign about this course from mid-February next year in Tamil Nadu. We will educate the students about the value of this course and we will assure them job security,” Vishnukumaran said.

Currently, there are seven regular and seven part-time students in the Ph.D. programme. The department will be offering a one-year diploma course from next academic year

The Dravidian University was set up in 1997 at Kuppam in Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh with the sole purpose of promoting Dravidian culture and literature on par with Hindi. Nine-years after the Institution was set up, the Tamil department in the Dravidian University came into existence.