Rajasthan to make Sanskrit compulsory at pre-primary level, 1st state to do so

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

Jaipur: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Rajasthan government is all set to implement Sanskrit as a compulsory subject at the pre-primary level in all schools, officials said. A proposal has been sent to the cabinet in this regard earlier this year. (Representative photo)
'Rajasthan will be the first state in India to teach Sanskrit at the pre-primary level. A proposal has been sent to the cabinet in this regard earlier this year. We have prepared the curriculum framework and also launched the books. We will start the classes once the cabinet gives the final nod,' commissioner of Rajasthan's Sanskrit education department Priyanka Jodhawat said.
According to government officials, the project will be implemented in three phases. 'In the first phase, we will start at the pre-primary schools only under the Sanskrit education department. There is no pre-primary school running in the Sanskrit schools in Rajasthan. However, at least 757 pre-primary Sanskrit schools are proposed, which will be starting in a month. Sanskrit will be a must subject in all those schools from the start,' an official from the education minister's office said.
Pre-primary level facility is also available in 962 Mahatma Gandhi English Medium Schools (MGEMS) and 660 PM-Shree Schools in Rajasthan, where Sanskrit is proposed to be implemented in the second and third phases accordingly next year, the officials said.
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'The books are prepared by the RSCERT and approved by both the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the state government. They are written in very simple language and designed like a comic book to attract children. These three books for the three classes of pre-primary are only to introduce the students to the subject and give them an idea about basic vocabulary and grammar of Sanskrit,' the officer said.
The books are named Sanskritpraveshah: Balvaatika Pratham Vaag for pre-primary first standard, Sanskritpraveshah: Balvaatika Dwitiya Vaag for pre-primary second standard, and Sanskritpraveshah: Balvaatika Tritya Vaag for pre-primary third standard.
These three books for the three classes of pre-primary are only to introduce the students to the subject and give them an idea about basic vocabulary and grammar of Sanskrit: Officer
No Hindi medium school in the state yet has any pre-primary level.
Currently, Sanskrit is compulsory in all the classes in Sanskrit schools, while it is available as an optional third language from Class 9 to Class 12 in MGEMS schools, and in Class 6 to Class 8 in Hindi medium and PM-Shree schools, said officials.
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Aiming to start the subject at the pre-primary level soon, education minister Madan Dilawar and chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, during the state-level Bhamashah Felicitation Ceremony on June 28, also launched the three books prepared by the Rajasthan State Council for Educational Research and Training (RSCERT) for these classes.