Delhi govt signs MoU to introduce French language in its schools
New Delhi: Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE) on Monday signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institut Fran ais en Inde (IFI-The French Institute in India) to introduce the French language in Delhi government's schools.
During the signing, state's Education minister Manish Sisodia said that as part of the government's programme to introduce prominent global languages in schools, students will now have the option to learn French too. "Introduction of global languages like French will unlock new career options for our students in various fields and will make them professionally sound," he said. He added that learning a global language is not just the acquisition of skill but also an association with the culture of a particular country.
"Delhi government reflects the same philosophy of education as the French government. They are serious about their policies and choices for the education of 1.5 million children studying in public schools and we support this cause. Among all the collaborations between two countries, education will always remain our priority," Ambassador of France to India H E Emmanuel Lenain said. In the pilot phase, the French language will be introduced in 30 schools affiliated with DBSE from classes VI-XII and will be expanded further to other schools depending on children's interest to learn it.
The opportunity to learn French has several benefits as it is a language of international relations and can bring in job opportunities in civil or diplomatic services and embassies. It can unlock various career opportunities in the field of academics, automobile, aeronautics, travel, tourism, hospitality, and fashion. As part of a top-level bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the Centre on Monday, senior IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as Secretary in Ministry of Cooperation.
It is one of the official working languages of many international institutions such as the UN, NATO, UNESCO, WHO, UNHCR, and UNCTAD.
Along with enhancing the potential of students, the educational cooperation will also give an opportunity to students to learn about French culture and history. Sisodia added that both the countries have been learning from each other for ages in the field of trade, education, art and culture through various collaborations.
"IFI will assist DBSE and Directorate of Education (DoE) in training the teachers and resource persons in communicative French language. Under this collaboration, IFI will offer access to its cultural and academic platforms to the students in schools. The institute will organise workshops, webinars and seminars to inform the school students about the possibilities of university studies in France and about the scholarship programme for the benefit of the students," said DoE Director Himanshu Gupta.
