Doctors criticise move to start MBBS course in Hindi, call it 'detrimental'
Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand’s plans to start MBBS courses in Hindi have been criticised by doctors who feel it will be “detrimental” and also impacts students who want to go abroad for higher studies.
In March, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that Madhya Pradesh will become the first state in India to start medical courses in Hindi. He announced that MP will start the new courses this year.
“This year, Madhya Pradesh will become the first state to start the MBBS course in Hindi. Why should we continue to be English slaves when other countries offer professional education in their native languages?” Chouhan said.
“This will help remove inferiority complex among our talented students from middle class and lower economic class who come from Hindi speaking backgrounds. The books for the MBBS education in Hindi are being readied and the new Hindi based system will commence. It will soon be followed in engineering education and other professional courses,” the BJP leader added.
प्रसन्नता का विषय है कि देश में मध्यप्रदेश पहला राज्य है, जहां एमबीबीएस की पढ़ाई हिंदी में कराई जाएगी। इस साल से हम इसकी शुरुआत कर रहे हैं।#Pachmarhi pic.twitter.com/zUd51CP1lN
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) March 27, 2022
Earlier this month, Uttarakhand Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat announced the state’s similar plan to launch in 2023-24 in line with the New Education Policy (NEP).
“We are committed to starting the MBBS course in Hindi in accordance with the new National Education Policy of the Centre. This will help Hindi-medium students come to par with English-medium-educated counterparts,” he told The Print.
“Often, bright Hindi-medium MBBS students face many difficulties. They are forced to follow the English medium education system (in college) for the want of language of their choice,” he added.
Doctors’ reactions
However, doctors and experts and unimpressed with the idea of medical courses in Hindi.
Dr Arun Kumar Gupta, president of the Delhi Medical Council, told Indian Express, “Most books that are a part of the modern medical education have been written and published in the west, by default, in the English language. The medium of instruction can be changed to Hindi but it is not possible to change the academic vocabulary of the MBBS curriculum. Even if the books are translated, almost all reputable research papers and journals are published in English.”
AIIMS Rishikesh Professor Dr. Amit Gupta too raised concerns about the inability of teachers to teach MBBS in Hindi.
“When we were students, we also took all our classes in English. In the entire country, there is not a single college which is conducting MBBS, MDS, or BDS classes in Hindi or any other regional language. The teachers, by default, are trained to teach in English as they’ve also been taught in the same language. So, if the course has to be launched in Hindi, then the teachers will also have to be trained along with translating the entire syllabus, which is going to be a tedious process,” Gupta told the newspaper.
He also questioned how students of different states pursing medical education in a particular state could be taught in only Hindi. “In India, students migrate from one state to the other for medical education as the top institutes are scattered and situated across the country,” he said.
Students have to clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for medical course admissions across India.
Dr. Aloy Mukherjee, senior consultant, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, told the newspaper’s website that medical education in Hindi or any regional language has a longstanding disadvantage as the graduates have to get out and work wherever their services are required.
“It is only going to pull us down. Hindi as the medium of language can be added as an adjunct but to have the entire course completely in Hindi is going to be detrimental. MBBS is not a basic degree course as a student has to apply everything in situations that require life risks. Doctors cannot be held to serve only in one particular region and they would like to explore other opportunities. The graduates will also not be eligible to go out of India and pursue higher education, fellowship, or research,” Dr. Mukherjee said.
