Magadh University’s vice-chancellor Rajendra Prasad on Sunday announced that the university’s plan to introduce postgraduate level courses in Chinese language and literature won’t be affected by the border dispute and escalation of military tension between India and China.

The vice-chancellor of Magadh University said that developments at the border and academic pursuits are two different things and in the larger national context, we need to learn the Chinese language and literature. 

“This would go a long way in having a better understanding of the Chinese designs and framing of our response accordingly,” he added.

The VC mentioned that as the Covid-19 has altered the university’s academic calendar, hence it cannot be said with certainty whether the course would begin as per the original plan.

Furthermore, the VC also said that even if the course is not introduced in the forthcoming academic session it would be on account of Covid-19 and not border tensions, 

The vice-chancellor earlier visited China to study the possibilities of academic exchange programmes between MU and Chinese institutions of higher learning.

When asked about the proposal to introduce PG level courses in defence and strategic studies, the VC said he was waiting for Raj Bhavan’s nod to introduce the course in the 2020-21 session. 

He also mentioned that to begin with, the course will have an intake of 40 students.