Dear Students and Academics,

Welcome to the Department of Languages of the School of Indian Studies. The Department of Languages was set up in 1982 in the wake of the restructurisation of the MGI.  The multi-lingual and pluri-cultural population of Mauritius is one of its greatest assets and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute is one of the institutions which has contributed to  preserve and disseminate this multilingualism through its Department of Languages.

The Department of Languages has travelled a long way since its inception. From a Unit with a skeleton staff involved in the production of teaching materials for the primary level, it has grown, today, into the most important Department of the Institute with more than 30 highly qualified and trained academic staff at the Grade of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor.The Department of Languages comprises five sections: Hindi Studies Section, Urdu Studies Section, Tamil Studies Section, Telegu Studies Section and Marathi Studies Section. Each Section is headed by an Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer and offers diploma, degree and post-degree programmes. Besides teaching, the staff members are also involved in supervision of students registered for M.Phil/Ph.D.Programmes of study set up with the participation of renowned Indian experts in their respective languages are at par with those offered by other institutions of repute. These programmes include modules in areas related to language, literature, linguistics and philosophy. What is more, fields of study pertaining to aspects of Mauritian history and Society, information Technology and media Studies have been included to ensure that prospective students develop an overall competence which will equip them for the demands of the job market.In so far as Teacher Education is concerned, the main activity is the Teacher Training Programme at primary and secondary levels run in collaboration with the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) for the Ministry of Education and Human Resources. The Department also conducts the Advanced Certificate in Education Course and other ref4resher courses for the primary and secondary school teachers at the request of the Ministry.In the field of research, studies undertaken by members of staff range from language teaching/learning and literature to advanced Sociological and applied linguistic studies. The Department encourages its staff to embark on research projects individually or in teams. This activity helps the Department in its mission and also constantly refreshes the staff in terms of know-how. As an academic body, the Department often takes the initiatives of revisiting and reviewing its activities and academic programmes through seminars, workshops and brainstorming sessions.Thanks to this philosophy of constant growth, the services of the staff of the Department are today much sought after by the public and private institutions in a multiplicity of academic fields. They are involved, for example, in the setting up and moderation of examination papers prepared at the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate as well as the marking and analysis of scripts at various levels.The expertise and experience of the Department are also solicited by institutions in the South West Indian ocean region. The Department of Languages also provides support to Indian Culture, philosophy and collaborates with various socio-cultural bodies in enhancing the quality of their input. To broaden its perspectives and join the main stream of the development at a more global level, the Department had established links with various universities outside Mauritius. Join us. It will be an experience of enrichment.

 Dr. P. Tiroumalechetty, Associate Professor

Head of Department of Languages & Language Resource Centre