New avenues spur German rush at PU

CHANDIGARH: The tribe of students who will be quite at home with German words like Achtung (attention) or Guten Tag (hello) is increasing on the Panjab University (PU) campus.
Spurred by the demand for the language in leading multi-nationals and the recent move of Union human resource development ministry to introduce it in Kendriya Vidyalayas, the German language department has seen a dramatic 40% rise in number of students in the department this session compared to the previous one.This year, the number of students has shot up to 118 from last year's 80.
"There are times when there is no space to sit in the classroom. This is a job-oriented language and this is attracting students,'' said J K Sharma, head of German department.Following the move to teach German as a third language in Kendriya Vidyalayas, students armed with a diploma or certificate in the language don't have to travel abroad for a job.
Their foreign language skills can open doors to lucrative career choices even in small towns of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
"I am getting dozens of queries every week from schools in Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Rohtak, Hisar and Mandi. Our students are in great demand in KVs and other schools. The presence of German MNCs in the neighbouring towns has also increased the job prospects of our students.
Some of our students are earning Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 a day for their interpretation skills. Companies are also hiring them at packages ranging between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4 lakh,'' added Sharma.
The students are naturally upbeat about this. "Earlier, French was in vogue, but German has gradually overtaken it. You log in to any leading job portal, and you will find lots of opportunities. The demand is in the field of teaching, translation and language interpretation," said Ismeet Kaur, who has taken admission in the advanced diploma in German from PU, after completing her masters in French.
Santosh Kumar, an engineer enrolled for the advanced diploma, said, "For an engineer, knowledge of German language makes good sense. We have so many German automobile companies and if you know the language you have an edge over others.''
Knowledge of the language also helps Indian students in getting into leading German universities and institutes. Besides, there are many scholarships available for Indian students studying German.
"There are no tuition fees in state universities and colleges in Germany. So, Indians students can avail world-class education there. Many scholarships are offered by DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst), Goethe Institute and Max-Mueller Bhawan to Indian students," said Sharma.