Fewer Takers for Ancient Language Courses in DU Admissions 2018

It seems like ancient language courses offered by the University of Delhi have been losing its charm. Over the years, the number of takers for these courses has been declining which is forcing the DU colleges to reduce the cut-offs. For instance, Sanskrit course offered by 29 DU colleges was very popular few years back. However, due to the inadequate employment opportunities now, there are less takers for the Sanskrit course. The highest cut-off for Sanskrit course was just 85%.

According to the official data of the Buddhist Studies Department of DU, close to 125 out of 234 seats in the Master’s course remain vacant every year. The department also offers a Certificate course in Pali that has also lost its demand. Pali is an ancient language in which all the Buddhist texts were originally written.

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A senior Sanskrit professor at a DU college revealed that Sanskrit graduates face limited employment opportunities. Even though they take up a translation job, they are paid just Rs. 200 - Rs. 300 per page. On the other hand, the scope of getting a job in teaching is also limited, he added.

Earlier this year, the government of Delhi announced its plans to establish 70 Sanskrit centres across the city to keep the language alive and make it more relatable and accessible. The government of Haryana had also introduced Sanskrit as an optional course in government colleges but had to discontinue to very low attendance.

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Prakrit is another ancient language that hardly has any takers. Courses in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali is also a challenge for visually challenged students, as they are not sure whether the language is available in Braille format or not.

English and Hindi language courses continue to keep up their demand by attracting a sufficient number of students.