Patna: The Bihar government launched French and German language courses in its 15 engineering colleges on Tuesday to improve the employability of the students at the global level. It has plans to introduce courses in other languages as well.
Digitally inaugurating the French and German courses under the aegis of the Department of Science, Technology and Technical Education (DSTTE), Bihar Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena said, "Learning foreign languages will help enhance global opportunities, cross-cultural interactions, professional and personal growth of our engineering graduates. They would be a boon for them."
"We are going to introduce the Japanese language course also in the engineering colleges very soon to further boost the employability of the students," he added. Meena also highlighted the transformative journey of technical education in the state since 2015 and stressed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has identified education as a key pillar of economic and social development.
The inauguration event was graced by DSTTE secretary Pratima and director-cum-additional secretary Ahamad Mahmood. Pratima gave a comprehensive presentation showcasing the objectives, execution, and future expansion plans of the project.
"Following the successful implementation of the language project, it will be extended to all 38 government engineering colleges in Bihar, she said.
The Chief Secretary directed the DSTTE to seek transformative international collaborations with foreign universities and colleges to open the doors for the engineering undergraduates to engage in the student exchange programmes.
"Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between Bihar’s engineering colleges and foreign institutes should be explored to facilitate academic exchanges and research collaborations," Meena added.
The principals, faculty members and students from all 38 government engineering colleges joined the event live from their respective state-of-the-art labs. French is an official language of 29 countries and the de facto administrative language in around 50 countries across the globe.
The German language is officially used in six countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. It is spoken as the first or second language in numerous other countries, making it a language of choice for over 11 crore people across 42 countries.
On the other hand, the Japanese language not only helps in employment, but also opens new vistas in education and research in collaboration with institutions in Japan.
