Madhya Pradesh planning to launch MBBS courses in State language

Jalandhar: Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the nation to begin the MBBS program in Hindi.
The State Chief Minister announced that three MBBS subjects — Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology will be taught in Hindi to first-year students of all 13 government medical colleges in the State. And for this purpose, books on the three subjects are being issued in Hindi.
Medicine completely in Hindi as the medium of language is going to be disadvantageous, opined Dr Naresh Purohit, Principal Investigator for Indian Medical Academy of Preventive Health.
Expressing concern on the decision of Madhya Pradesh government to inculcate Hindi in medical education from the current academic session, Dr Purohit told UNI on Sunday India is a diverse country and students from diverse backgrounds come to study in government colleges. Students from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, who are not well-versed in, Hindi will be deprived of seats because of this decision.
Executive Member of the Federation of Hospital Administrator Dr Purohit said, MBBS is not a basic degree course as a student has to apply everything in situations that require life risks. “Medics cannot be held to serve only in one particular region and they would like to explore other opportunities. The graduates will not be eligible to go out of India and pursue higher education, fellowship, or research” he added.
Noted physician and researcher averred that medical education in India is well-established, but this move will, take it back 20 years. “Countries like Russia, China and Ukraine instruct medical students in the local language. And it can be noted that the medical institutions in those countries are not as reputed as India’s. The students from those countries are not even allowed to practice in India unless they pass an exam,” he said. “On the other hand, medical institutions in Australia, the UK and the USA are of high repute and they teach students in English,” Dr Purohit added. “So, the government should not deteriorate the quality of education that we have,” he stated.
He further said journals, guidelines and regulations from international. bodies like the WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), which doctors need to follow, are available in English.
“Even for the drugs, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval is necessary. How will a medic manage it if Hindi is used as a medium of instruction in colleges?” he questioned.
He apprehended that finding faculty who could teach medical courses in Hindi will be a challenge for government of Madhya Pradesh He further said teachers will need to be trained along with translating the entire syllabus to instruct in Hindi, which will be a tedious process. Moreover, the move will be not appropriate for students from South-India or north-eastern states and many migrate to different states for education from top medical institutes scattered across the country.
He pointed out that medical education doesn’t stop at MBBS alone, and sooner rather than later, postgraduate medical courses would also need to be conceived in regional languages.
He informed that a considerable segment of medical graduates today is employed in allied sectors straddling research, business and administration, pharmaceuticals and the like. These sectors are firmly entrenched in English and are thus likely to be much less welcoming to regional language, medium graduates.
“The response of the private sector is also unlikely to be brisk. There is a risk of engendering an implicit hierarchy among medical graduates therefore, whereby, non- English medium graduates are seen to be lesser than their counterparts” he added.
“The diversity and multiplicity of languages across and within states, while otherwise a highly celebrated feature, can comprise a significant impediment to venularization of medical education” he observed. (UNI)