IGNOU launches programme in German teaching
By IANSTuesday, October 19, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched a programme in German teaching to meet the increasing demand for German teachers in the country, officials said Tuesday.
The Diploma in Teaching German as a Foreign Language in association with the Max Mueller Bhavan (Goethe-Institut), New Delhi, and the University of Vienna was jointly launched by German Ambassador Thomas Matussek, Austrian Ambassador Ferdinand Maultachl and Switzerland Ambassador Phillipe Welti.
“The programme was part of the German embassy’s endeavour to spread awareness about our country in India, especially in second-tier cities. Learning German opens doors to 13 European countries,” said Matussek.
The programme will have 60 hours of practice in the classrooms of premier schools in the country. About 340 students have already enrolled for the programme.
“At present this programme will be offered in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. It is a prototype model and will be followed by teaching programmes in other foreign languages,” said Renu Bharadwaj, project coordinator.
IGNOU, said to be the world’s largest open university, has over 2.8 million students and offers nearly 140 courses, most of them long distance. It runs nearly 3,000 study centres and also has 60 overseas centres.
