Mandarin is There but no Trained Teachers in CBSE Schools

French, German and Spanish are quite popular in classes VI to VIII but with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) deciding to introduce Mandarin Chinese in schools academicians say the language will find many takers. Jyoti Bose, principal, Springdales School in Dhaula Kuan, said, ‘‘We tried introducing Chinese in our school last year and there were quite a few students who wanted to take it up, but there was a problem finding teachers. Now it has been introduced, it should be continued in senior classes as well.’’

Dr Sreemati Chakrabarti, an expert on China and a professor in the department of East Asian Studies in Delhi University, said, ‘‘We have been getting 700-800 applications for just 100 seats in the last few years.’’

She further explained, ‘‘China today is the largest trading partner of a large number of countries. Chinese companies are setting up businesses in different countries where they look for locals who know their language. So the job opportunities are enormous.’’ But there is a huge shortfall of people who can teach Mandarin Chinese in India. Chakrabarti said that introducing the Chinese language at the school level can make a big difference in the long run. ‘‘It’s very difficult to get teachers from China because of strict visa regulations. Starting Mandarin Chinese in schools will ensure there is more scope for interaction in the future. India doesn’t even have one great Sinologist. The number of Chinese scholars doing research on India far outnumber the Indian scholars studying China,’’ she said.

To meet the shortage, CBSE plans to train teachers before initiating the course. The curriculum has been designed by a committee of experts formed in November whose first priority would be to make textbooks. ‘‘The Chinese language is not easy. It has a non-alphabetic, pictographic script. We are trying to devise a course in which the students can learn the pronunciation through Devanagri script. This language can’t be learnt in a short time but probably children can retain better,’’ said professor Priyadarsi Mukherji from the Centre of Chinese and South East Asian Studies, JNU.