Now animated rhyme videos to help kids learn Sanskrit in U.P.

PRAYAGRAJ Now, students enrolled in over 1.5 lakh government-run primary and upper primary schools across the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh would get the opportunity to learn Sanskrit in an innovative way.

Special animated video rhymes would help these children better understand the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit in an interesting and engrossing manner. To make this possible, Prayagraj-based State Institute of Education (SIE) has been entrusted the responsibility by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)-Lucknow through sanctioning of a dedicated project for this initiative, said state basic education department officials.

“We received a formal go ahead from SCERT-Lucknow on July 18 in this regard along with sanctioning of the budget for this mission. We have been entrusted with the task of designing and producing 10 animated videos on Sanskrit rhymes for the benefit of primary and upper primary level students of Uttar Pradesh,” said Deepti Mishra, assistant deputy director (Education) and Coordinator, Samagra Shiksha, State Institute of Education-Prayagraj.

Officials believe that through this initiative, it would be possible for the school kids to establish easy connection with Sanskrit language, and they will be able to develop better knowledge, habit of understanding and thinking, develop creativity and tendency of independent thinking and innovations related to subject and language.

Children will also be able to develop fluent pronunciation and the habit of studying the language. The understanding of the subject will also increase through these animated rhyme videos. Visual and auditory understanding will be developed in children through these musical poems, they maintained.

“To prepare the content of the animated videos, our Sanskrit subject experts will write the rhymes and then get the audio recorded while art experts will come out with the animations and special effects at specially convened workshops. We will be holding five-day workshops in 10 separate batches of experts for this mission, said Mishra.

She added that the detailed schedule of these workshops would be finalised within the next 10 days. “These animated Sanskrit rhyme videos would specially be screened in the government-run primary and upper primary schools of the state on designated bagless days and other occasion as specified under National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 ,” she pointed out.

The new NEP-2020 envisions Sanskrit to be “mainstreamed” with strong offerings in schooling -- including as one of the language options in the three-language formula (mother tongue or regional language, modern Indian languages or English as second language in Hindi-speaking state or Hindi/English in non-Hindi speaking states besides English or a modern Indian language in Hindi speaking states and English or a modern Indian language as a third language).

As per the NEP-2020, it has also been proposed that a system be put in place that it holds up the extensive use of technology to aid in language translation and interpretation efforts as well.

PIC CAPTION Animated videos on Sanskrit rhymes will be created for the benefit of primary and upper primary students. (For representation only)