IIT Kanpur establishes centre to re-integrate Hindi and other Indian languages

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has set up a new Shivani Centre for the nurture and re-integration of Hindi and other Indian languages (OILs) at the institute. The centre will benefit the students coming from non-English medium schools in breaking language barriers and socially integrating with peers; and will provide them with employment opportunities.

IIT Kanpur alumnus Muktesh Pant (Micky), founder of Micky and Vinita Charitable Fund, has endowed the centre in the name of his mother, late Gaura Pant, also known as Shivani. Shivani was one of the most famous Hindi writers in the 20th century, as per a statement from IIT Kanpur.

The Shivani Centre will offer course content in regional languages and help such students in developing their personality. “The Centre will try to address these issues not only at the institute level but also in the context of higher education in the country in general by facilitating the creation of academic resources (STEM content, textbooks, references, digital tools) in languages other than English,” the IIT Kanpur statement said.

Micky Pant said: “...IIT Kanpur has always led the way in academic innovation and I hope that they can now lead the way to nurture Hindi and other Indian languages and prepare for a future where digital technology allows students to excel in engineering irrespective of their fluency in English...We are honored that IIT Kanpur is naming the center after Shivani Ji, and my sisters Veena Joshi, Mrinal Pande and Ira Pande look forward to seeing the center grow and prosper and fulfill the Institute's vision.”

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Abhay Karandikar, director of IIT Kanpur said: “...Students with Indian languages background face challenges in navigating the English language based course content and often face academic and social exclusion as a result. The Shivani Centre...will ensure seamless integration of students of Hindi and OILs background at the institute and will fulfill the objectives laid out in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. I am grateful to our Distinguished Alumnus Mr. Micky Pant for his generous donation for setting up the Center.”

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