Former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi, A. Murigeppa said Mysuru has the most appropriate academic and cultural ambience for the promotion Kannada language, literature and values, and hence the Centre for Kannada Classical Language Studies should not be shifted from Mysuru to Bengaluru.
“In the context of Kannada language getting the classical tag, there is an urgent need to re-invent ‘Prachina Kannada’ and ‘Medieval Kannada’,” he opined, in his inaugural address of 41st refresher course in Kannada here on Thursday.
The course was jointly organised by UGC-Human Resource Development Centre and Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies, University of Mysore at the UGC- HRDC, Manasagangotri here.
Prof. Murigeppa said it is indeed the most difficult task to comprehend and critique old, and medieval Kannada literature due to lack of understanding of the language.
Most teachers are unfamiliar with the language used in literature in the earlier times. As a result, they have become indifferent to this rich literature, he added.
Director of the Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies R. Ramakrishna regretted the declining standards in teaching and research in universities. While the number of students pursuing Ph.D. has increased, plagiarism has become an issue in doctoral research. However, the University of Mysore has brought in reforms and is using a software that detects the cases of plagiarism, Prof. Ramakrishna said.
Prof. Lingaraja Gandhi, Director of UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, in his presidential remarks, said teaching profession has become the most challenging profession and suggested that teachers need to be “technology-friendly” and learn to use ICT in the teaching process. A continuous upgrade of knowledge and teaching techniques are essential and refresher courses provide them the opportunities to know about the latest development and to interact with experts in the field, said Prof. Gandhi.
‘It is indeed the most difficult task to comprehend and critique old, and medieval Kannada literature’
