Puri: More than a hundred students of Rashtriya Sanskruta Sansthan here Tuesday staged a sit-in on their campus to protest the Higher Education department secretary’s alleged derogatory comments on Sanskrit education in the state.
The agitating students also submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister through principal Harekrushna Mahapatra and pleaded for immediate fulfilment of their eight-point charter of demands. They also sought the transfer of Higher Education secretary.
The agitators claimed they had staged a dharna in Bhubaneswar a few days ago seeking filling of all vacant Sanskrit teacher post in schools. They had also met the Higher Education secretary to press for their demands. However, the secretary had made certain derogatory remarks against the students and the overall Sanskrit education in the state, alleged the students.
“Sanskrit should be made a compulsory subject in all the schools across the state and the state government should focus on Sanskrit education. The government should recognise Sanskrit as the third language in schools and take steps to fill all vacant posts of Sanskrit teachers,” said an agitator.
Principal Mahapatra said they would raise the issue with the Union Human Resource Development Ministry. “The state government has been neglecting Sanskrit education in schools,” he added.
