In association with St James School in London, UK, CIF is working to promote the Sanskrit Home Study courses. St James School promotes and supports teaching Sanskrit in schools and other institutes, world-wide. The institute guided CIF to let its students take the Sanskrit exam, offered by Cambridge International Examination (CIE), the largest International Education Programmes provider in the world.
The examination is conducted at three proficiency levels, viz. Basic, Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced. St. James facilitated and sponsored the participation of 29 students of CIF, including 9 staff-members, students of the Home Study Courses and 7 Acharyas from the organization. All these students appeared for the various levels of this examination, corresponding to their respective proficiency levels in Sanskrit.
We are happy to announce that all participants passed with flying colours. While Sri Swaminathan, one of the sevaks at CIF, scored a marvelous 94% and topped nationally in IGCSE Option B level, Br. Ved Chaitanya, Acharya, Chinmaya Prerana, Navi Mumbai, topped nationally with a score of 97% in the Advanced Subsidiary level of the examination.
In an interview to DNA Navi Mumbai, the Acharya stated, “I took the exam to make people aware of the opportunities to excel in Sanskrit and put the knowledge to good use. If one chooses to diligently learn the language, there are various options in terms of vocation. While they can opt to teach the essence of the sacred texts to interested people, there are opportunities to conduct research both in India and abroad. Researchers are contemplating using Sanskrit as a computer language because its time-tested syntax and structure make it easy, with less word usage.” Finally, he emphasized on the integral role of Sanskrit in preserving our culture and vice versa.
Prior to the exam, CIF organised week-long preparatory classes led by Swami Sharadananda, Acharya, CIF and Dr. Sheeba, Deputy Director, CIF Shodha Sansthan.
The exams have motivated students to delve deeper into the Sanskrit language. We hope many more people take up these exams in the coming years.