Over 30 Students Opt for Hindi-Medium MBBS in MP, Other States likely to plan

Madhya Pradesh- Around 30 MBBS students have opted for the Hindi medium MBBS programme in Madhya Pradesh (MP) since its launch in 2022. Madhya Pradesh is the first state in India to start MBBS studies in Hindi. The initiative was launched on October 16, 2022, in Bhopal by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The initiative of the MBBS programme in Hindi medium language was introduced by Dr RKS Dhakad, Dean of Gajara Raja Medical College (GRMC), Gwalior. He said "Only 30-40% of students coming from Hindi medium schools have opted for Hindi MBBS. This has had a positive impact on the overall learning experience as Hindi medium students are more comfortable with the curriculum."

With this, speaking to the TOI, an official from the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), MP, says that “around 70% of students from English-medium backgrounds do not struggle with English lectures. However, the introduction of bilingual textbooks has significantly helped the remaining 30% of students from Hindi backgrounds, who now claim to better understand the course content”.

Along with this, a senior professor from Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal said “Teaching medical courses purely in Hindi has proven to be challenging, with many students struggling to comprehend highly technical scientific terms. This is why Madhya Pradesh’s MBBS course uses a mix of Hindi for explanation and English for technical terms, which has been better received by students”.

Furthermore, the GMC senior professor also mentioned that “will be creating a more standardised Hindi medical lexicon that can convey scientific concepts without diluting their meaning. The Madhya Pradesh government plans to gradually extend Hindi education to other MBBS years”.

While introducing the MBBS programme in the Hindi language medium the state faced several difficulties, such as writing difficult medical terminologies in Hindi, bringing bilingual textbooks so that students can understand the subject well, etc. MP had translated the anatomy, biochemistry and physiology textbooks for first-year medical students into Hindi in October 2022. With this, only first and second-year students have Hindi medical textbooks as of now. At the same time, the Ministry has now also introduced the Anuwadani App to translate technical books into regional languages ​​including Hindi.

Meanwhile, states like Rajasthan, Bihar and Chhattisgarh are also showing their interest in teaching MBBS programmes in Hindi medium On this, Medical Dialogues had earlier that after Madhya Pradesh, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JLNMC), Patna will also now offer an MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) course in Hindi. This decision was taken in a meeting of senior officials with the Health Minister in Patna. It will be implemented from the new session i.e. September 2024-25.