MoU for teaching German as optional subject in Kendriya Vidyalayas finalised

NEW DELHI: The government has finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed between India and Germany for teaching German language as an optional subject in Kendriya Vidyalayas, the Government informed the Lok Sabha today.

"Our Mission in Berlin had shared the draft of the proposed MoU with the German side on April 13," HRD Minister Smriti Irani said in a written reply.

On a question whether the government has given a final shape to the MoU to be signed with Germany, Irani answered in the affirmative.

The Minister's reply assumes significance as it makes clear that the new MoU confines to teaching German as an optional subject instead of it being imparted as a third language in KVs.

The government had replaced German with Sanskrit as the third language in KVs last year, maintaining that the arrangement was against the existing three language formula.

The proposed MoU, the Minister said in the House aims at imparting communicative German language training to students of KVs and to "work out mechanism for promotion of Indian languages in German educational institutions".

Irani added that while the earlier agreement was between two institutes, the proposed MoU is inter-governmental.