German Ambassador Michael Steiner visited Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV), Picket, on Thursday to take stock of the progress of the ‘German in 1,000 Schools’ project.
The project, which began in India in 2011, aims at teaching German as third language to upper primary students in about a thousand KV schools across the country by 2017.
The school here is one among the 17 Kendriya Vidyalayas in the twin cities that has adopted German as part of the school curriculum.
Lauds students
Mr. Steiner said he was amazed by the students’ knowledge of the basics of German, which they displayed through songs and skits. He commended the students for their effort and said the knowledge of various languages was a big advantage in the globalised world. ‘German in 1,000 Schools’ is a joint initiative of the Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan and the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. While the former trains teachers on content and evaluation, the latter looks after administrative work.
Besides strengthening cultural ties between India and Germany, the project looks to precondition talented young Indians to pursue higher education and career opportunities in Germany.
“It is only a matter of time before individuals are ready to teach in interior parts of the country and realise the project’s goal,” said P. V. Padmavathi, Language Coordinator at Goethe Zentrum, Hyderabad.
The Ambassador was accompanied by Dr. Stefan Weckbach, German Consul General in Chennai, Nicholas Wagner, spokesperson of the German Embassy in New Delhi, and officials from KV Sangathan and Goethe Zentrum in Hyderabad.
