Government First Grade Colleges do not always provide faculty for other regional languages; it depends on the number of students opting for those languages.
The government arts colleges in Bengaluru do not provide Telugu language lecturers to students who opt for Telugu as a second language. Students either study themselves or change their subject.
Sirisha, a student who is studying for a Bachelor’s in Commerce at one of the Government Arts Colleges in Bengaluru, has opted for Telugu as her language in one of the optional languages courses. She said, “It is difficult for me to study by myself as the syllabus is vast and I need guidance to study.” However, she said that she is thinking to change to Hindi or Sanskrit.
Surendra, English lecturer at the Government First Grade College (GFGC) at Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi, said there are only four students who opted for Telugu in that GFGC. “We help our students within our faculty network. I know a Telugu faculty from one of the private colleges, so I send the students to him in case of any doubts about the subject.” Students download the textbook for the language from the Bangalore University portal and prepare by themselves.
Mallikarjuna, a student studying for a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (BBA) with Telugu as his elective, in a GFGC at Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi said, “I download syllabus and text book from Bangalore University portal and prepare for my exams.” Also, he added that the four students in this GFGC would take help from the Telugu lecturer in Maharani Arts, Commerce and Management College at the time of preparing for the exams.
The Joint Academic Director of the Department of Collegiate Education, Sachitha Bopaiah said, “There should be a minimum of five students for any language from each class, and only then a faculty would be provided for that particular language.” Also, she said that the college will inform the students about the non-availability of the faculty for a particular language at the time of opting for the language. The number of students opting for Telugu as one of the languages has declined over the years, the official said.
A retired Government Junior College Principal, B. Simahachalam, said, “It is not just a problem with government colleges in Bangalore, but a problem in many government colleges across the country.” He said that there has been an increase in the number of government colleges, but the number of faculty has not increased.” Recruitment of the required number of faculty will be the only solution to the problem, which would be a burden on the government, says B. Simahachalam.
