PANAJI: Goa University’s department of Sanskrit and Indic knowledge systems, announced by vice-chancellor Varun Sahni last week, may only begin to function from 2021. The department, which has already received a nod from the state government, may start operations after students of Goa’s only BA (Sanskrit) programme, which started in 2017-18, graduate. The graduate course is currently held at Kundaim Mutt’s Shree Brahmanand Sanskrit Prabodhini.The varsity’s new Sanskrit department is expected to begin by offering 15 seats for its masters programme. It will then expand to offer MPhil and doctoral degrees in Indic knowledge systems. When this happens, Goa University will be one of the rare ones that offer higher education in Indic knowledge systems.Goa University will begin work on the department by first recruiting faculty members, officials said. The masters degree in Sanskrit will cover literature, poetry and philosophy, while Indic knowledge systems pertain to the study of texts, traditions and analytical systems of the ancient Indic civilisation, which covers modern-day India as well as surrounding regions.Chief minister Manohar Parrikar , who is also education minister, had first promised to set up a Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya to promote education in classical Indian languages in his 2014 budget. He later repeated the promise in subsequent budget speeches. “The Sanskrit language and yoga have been pillars of Indian culture and education,” he said in his last budget speech.

Stay updated with all the Latest Goa headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.