Hindi Learning Center to Come Up in Moscow

A learning center for Hindi is set to come up in Moscow, after many Russians showed an inclination to learn the language. A central government institution promoting the language, called Kendriya Hindi Sansthan or the Central Institute of Hindi, will soon open a center in the Russian capital, the Times of India reported.

The admission process is scheduled to start later in the year, and all the formalities to set up the center in Moscow have been finished. This will be the second such Hindi learning center in a foreign country,  the first one being in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“A Russia center will prove to be a milestone in enhancing the long cultural and historical ties between the two nations. The Moscow institute will begin operations in the current year,” Beena Sharma, registrar of the Agra headquarters, said, according to the report.

The Kendriya Hindi Sansthan is an autonomous educational institute. It is governed by an autonomous organization, Kendriya Hindi Shikshan Mandal (KSHM), established in 1961 by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. The headquarters of the institute is in Agra, with eight other centers located in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Shillong, Mysore, Dimapur, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad.

“Required space for the Moscow center has already been identified. We have also completed all formalities with the Russian government. The institute will offer both certificate and degree courses, varying in length from a few months to years,” said a senior official of the institute, the report added.

Applications from 25 countries were received for enrollment in Hindi courses at the Agra center in 2017. A total of 100 seats are reserved for overseas students in Agra. The number of seats filled last year was 96. As of now, the center has three Russian students, among others from various nations like China, Mongolia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Tajikistan, Poland, Bulgaria, Trinidad and Tobago, Afghanistan and Armenia, according to the report. The number of foreign students who enrolled at the center in Agra in 2016 was 79.

Some of the courses that foreign students can pursue at these centers are Hindi language proficiency certificate course, and Hindi language proficiency diploma course, among others. Some of these courses are also being conducted in Colombo.

The Colombo center has been teaching the language with an aim to promote Hindi since 2007. KSHM also conducts other Hindi learning courses in other nations in collaboration with Indian embassies.