The German Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen will set up the Herman Gundert chair for Malayalam studies on Friday.

The chair in the German university was set up in cooperation with the Thunchath Ezuthachan Malayalam University at Tirur in Kerala and will be headed by Dr Scaria Zacharia.

The chair in remembrance of Dr Hermann Gundert, an alumnus of the Karls university who was the first one to prepare a Malayalam-English dictionary in 1872, has done notable works on Malayalam grammar and Kerala history.

Manorama News reports that the inauguration of the chair will be marked by a 3-day programme that includes seminars, cultural programmes and a visit to the hometown of Gundert.

Malayalam University Vice Chancellor Dr K Jayakumar and other dignitaries will attend the function.

Meanwhile India and Germany have also agreed to facilitate the teaching of contemporary Indian languages in educational institutions in Germany and Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) schools in India will also resume German learning facility as part of agreements signed during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to India.

Earlier, the Human Resources Development Ministry had dropped German from the KV curriculum.