Saturday, November 08, 2008
Coimbatore: Bharathiar University will offer certificate and diploma courses in Chinese in collaboration with ‘Cheena Vanolli’, a Chinese radio station having its base in Beijing. The radio station airs programmes in Tamil in China. The courses are an offshoot of the memorandum of understanding the university had signed with the Huaihua University, China. As per the MoU, nine Chinese students have already undergone a degree course in English at Bharathiar University. Three are pursuing post-graduate degree in English.

A fresh batch of 19 has just landed to begin their course.


The MoU also envisages exchange of student and faculty to enable students here to learn Chinese language, music, painting and martial arts like Kung Fu, and Chinese students to learn the Indian arts and yoga.

Subsequently, representatives from ‘Cheena Vanolli’ headed by ‘Kalaiarasi’ (Indian name) will teach Chinese language at the university. “Kalaiarasi is a Chinese woman who has learnt the Tamil language and conducts programmes in Tamil.

The radio station had given a proposal to the Government of China to set up a language laboratory at Bharathiar University for conducting courses. They wish to propagate the language”, Vice-Chancellor G. Thiruvasagam told The Hindu. A team from China is expected to visit the university in the last week of November to finalise the proposal.