Jawaharlal Nehru University is in the process of establishing three new centres — Centre for Hindu Studies, Centre for Buddhist Studies and Centre for Jain Studies — under the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, said Vice-Chancellor Santishree D. Pandit on Friday.
A notification dated July 9 said the Executive Council in its meeting on June 29 had approved the recommendation of the committee constituted to recommend changes in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020. University officials said they are still planning the programmes, and are aiming to roll them out in the new centres in the next academic year.
“JNU has proudly established three centres that will implement the vision and mission of Viksit Bharat in integrating Indian knowledge systems into research culture. This will take us on the path of integrating tradition with modernity, continuity with change, realm with region and myth with reality,” Ms. Pandit said.
Brajesh Kumar Pandey, the Dean of the School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, said: “We are currently in planning stages, and will begin drafting the syllabus and curriculum, for which committees are being formed.” He added that they plan on offering PhD courses in the centres, and at least one centre will also conduct an MA programme.
“The idea of the new centres is to teach those aspects of our traditional Indian knowledge systems, which are missing from our curriculum. We will collaborate with other social science and language schools to implement this goal, and we hope that he will be able to start offering courses next year,” he said.
The NET states that departments teaching Sanskrit that conduct research are to be strengthened across the “new multidisciplinary higher education system”. Last year, the Delhi University too had introduced an MA in Hindu Studies corresponding to the education policy.
