Kolhan University

Kolhan University seems to have finally woken up to the threat to tribal tongues.

Acting on the directive of the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, the four-year-old varsity formed a tribal languages department last year and is keen to start Santhali courses in colleges under it.

Recently, the commission asked varsity officials to send details about the number of available Santhali teachers.

“We received a letter from UGC about a week ago. The letter sought the status of available Santhali teachers in the varsity. I have asked all colleges to send details of the sanctioned posts and other necessary details. The commission has already allowed students to write in the tribal language in National Eligibility Test. Such initiatives will make Santhali a regular subject like Bengali, Hindi or Odia,” said D.N. Mahto, dean of students’ welfare, Kolhan University.

On the other hand, though the tribal languages department has already received a green signal at the syndicate meeting of the university and a syllabus is also ready, a nod from the state HRD is needed to start classes.

The department will initially teach Santhali. The varsity is also keen to start Ho, as it is another widely spoken tribal language in Kolhan.

“We wrote to the state HRD for the tribal languages department last year, but no reply has come yet. We will again send a reminder. The move is meant to benefit a large number of students, who want to pursue Santhali,” said Kolhan University registrar K.C. Dey.

Last year, the UGC had asked Kolhan University to give a rough estimate of the number of Santhali-speaking students. A survey, conducted by Mahto, showed that there were about 1,500 such students. According to the survey, the largest number of Santhali-speaking students is at LBSM College in Jamshedpur followed by Ghatshila College and Baharagora College.