Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/244

Rh Sanscrit Class are students in the English Department. Such students, particularly those from the lower classes, cannot go on with their Sanscrit studies with that degree of attraction which the non-English-reading students can. But the studies of the class being the same with all the progress in both the languages is greatly impeded.

The English Department if continued to be conducted in this irregular style, is not expected to be productive of any satisfactory results. After the creation of the English Department in this Institution a similar irregular mode of conducting it, rendered it useless which caused its abolition by the General Committee of Public Instruction. If better arrangements be not made, the present English Department will also become useless.

Under the above considerations I beg leave to suggest the following arrangement which, I am persauded, if steadily pursued, will be productive of benificial results. The arrangement I would propose is as follows:—The students should not be allowed to commence English till they have acquired some proficiency in the Sansarit language. The pupils of the same Sanskrit Class shall go on with the same English studies. The study of English instead of being optional be compulsory. Should there be any one very unwilling to be taught in English, he be given to understand that he will not be allowed to commence English at the subsequent stage of his Sanscrit study, as to create for him alone a separate classs is altogether out of the question.

Under the proposed system of Sanscrit study, the students of the sahitya class, it is assumed, will be well acquainted with the Sanskrit language. Therefore I beg leave to propose that the study of English be commenced in the Alankara class. In that case the students will be able to devote to the study of English nearly double the time they do now and their minds having received culture, they will not have to begin with such trite subjects as young