Soon, Uttrakhand to offer MBBS course in Hindi

Dehradun: The state Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat has confirmed that the Uttrakhand has considered introducing an MBBS course in Hindi soon. This will be a great help for Hindi-medium students in competing with their English medium counterparts.

Rawat told ThePrint that the government is working on a strategy to provide Hindi education in the state's medical institutes. He said that this was in keeping with the new (NEP), which emphasizes "Indian knowledge systems" and instruction in the "mother tongue."

"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. Rawat stated that the government will shortly finalize its action plan for the Hindi-medium MBBS degree course and that all efforts will be made to roll out the program for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Doon Medical College in Dehradun, Government Medical College in Haldwani, and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Government Institute of Medical Science and Research in Srinagar are the three state-run medical colleges in Uttarakhand. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh, which is run by the central government, also provides the MBBS program.

While accepting that developing a syllabus for medical students in Hindi can be challenging, the Education Minister stated that proficient academic persons and the experts will hire to prepare the course material in Hindi. "Enough study materials will be made available in the market to medical students. New MBBS books will be prepared in Hindi by medical experts. In fact, new books prepared by us will also help students in other states of the Hindi belt," Rawat said.

According to the Uttarakhand education minister, even students who score high on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical colleges are at a disadvantage because they must have a proficiency in English. When asked about the viability of the Uttarakhand government's intention to teach the MBBS course in Hindi, Dr. Aruna V. Vanikar, member of the National Medical Commission (NMC) and president of the Undergraduate Medical Education Board, stated there should be no obstacles, however, the NMC had the final say.

"It's a policy decision that has to be taken by NMC, subject to the guidelines issued by the Union health ministry. However, I personally feel preparing study materials and other legalities will not be an issue. The Indian medical system has made immense progress and books and other study materials could be readied easily in Hindi as an when needed," she said.