Thiruvananthapuram: Opening new vistas for students and job seekers, the Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum, housing Germany’s language centre and the office of the Honorary Consul, will soon get its new address in the capital city. Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the German House in the city on Nov 16, in the presence of Consul General HE Achim Burkart, Dr Shashi Tharoor and other dignitaries.
Part of the worldwide network of Goethe-Institut, the official language and cultural institute of Germany, the Zentrum has been functioning in the city for fifteen years now. It is managed by the Indo-German Language and Cultural Society under the Chairmanship of former Kerala Planning Board Member, G Vijaya Raghavan.
The centre provides consular assistance to hundreds of people migrating to Germany, including language training and certifying signatures and copies of documents. Starting with roughly 400 students in Kerala, it now enrols more than 5,600 students yearly, helping them learn German and write the Goethe-Certificate exams.
Goethe-Institut opened its first institute in Calcutta in 1957. The flag-bearer of German language learning now has six institutes and five centres in India, including Trivandrum and Kochi. The Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum was set up in 2008, and a branch was opened in Kochi five years later as demand for admissions to coveted German universities and explore professional goals there increased.
“Today, not just nurses but thousands of youngsters from across Kerala come to learn and write the exams, a prerequisite for studies and work in Germany,” said Dr Syed Ibrahim, the Honorary Consul of Germany and the Director of the Goethe-Zentrum, Trivandrum. “This year alone, some 30,000 candidates wrote the Goethe-Certificate examinations at both these centres in Kerala. Thus, Kerala has become the pioneer in India to partner directly with Germany for fair and ethically correct migration of human resources. The arrival of the new facility in Trivandrum would significantly meet the long-standing demand for more examination schedules in Kerala”
Considering the growing demand and bilateral relations and the future opportunities for the young people here, the Goethe-Zentrum decided years ago to look for an ideal location to construct its own building in the city.
Designed and executed with utmost care for environmental consciousness, the state-of-the-art premises present an unmatched experience for the visitors and the students. The eight classrooms have the most modern technological features to conduct German classes with more efficiency and quality.
Kerala Biz News