This professor is India's cultural ambassador to Germany

This professor is India's cultural ambassador to Germany

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/This-professor-is-...

Times of India

By Prashant Rupera

VADODARA: Since he was 19, Gregor Paul Lang-Wojtasik from Germany has set himself on a journey studying India. From the time he took a cycle journey from Porbander to Diu in 1987 following the traces of M K Gandhi (not the 'Mahatma') in Gujarat, Gregor has visited India 18 times equaling to three years of his life studying Sarvodaya movement and even meeting the eccentric Lalu Prasad Yadav, when the latter was Bihar's chief minister.

At 44, professor Gregor as dean of Educational Science at University of Education, Weingarten - has played a key role in ensuring the German university's collaboration with M S University.

And he even believes that the night schools and morning schools of India can act as models for Germany which has around five million functional illiterates.

"There are models in India which can be replicated in Germany where five million out of total 80 million population fall under the category of functional illiterates. A study has revealed that around 20 to 25 per cent are potential risk pupils - not being able to survive because they don't know reading and writing," says Gregor, who is also director of Research Centre of School Development and Professionalization.

Similarly, he believes that India can learn from Germany, when it comes to teaching the youth.

"We have an integrated teacher education system which is much combined and follows inter-disciplinary approach to deal with the challenges of 21st century," says Gregor, who had done his dissertation on non-formal education in India and Bangladesh in 2000.

After his first visit to India in 1987, Gregor has brought several groups (consisting of dozen odd people between 18 and 25 years age) to India from Germany.

"To me what Germany means to Europe, India means to Asia. I wanted to show these groups, a country which is supposed to be biggest democracy in the world and compare it to a smaller democracy like ours," says Gregor, who has even participated in 'rice harvest' and helped villagers construct huts during his visits to villages of Gujarat, Bihar and even Tamil Nadu.

"We used to select a village where no European had been before," he says, adding that like in India, poverty is also rising in Germany.

As he bids adieu to Baroda, a town, near to his heart, he promises to return in September, his 19th visit, to extend the collaboration that University of Education has entered with MSU for student exchange and bi-national masters programmes.

Source: http://www.gandhitopia.org/xn/detail/2678951%3ATopic%3A102134

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