New Delhi: In the coming three years, textbooks for medicine, nursing, and pharmacy will be available in all major Indian languages, according to Chamu Krishna Shastry, chairperson of the Ministry of Education's Committee for Development of Indian Languages.
He stated that the panel is already considering this new approach with the National Medical Commission (NMC) and other specific boards.
"We aim to provide education (courses in medicine/nursing/pharmacy, etc.) in regional Indian languages. In ten years, all students will be given the opportunity, infrastructure, and personnel backing to study these topics in their native language.
This does not imply that English will be eliminated. He stated that this alternative would also be preserved as published by The Hindu.
After Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled the MBBS textbooks in Hindi on October 16 in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also announced his intention to begin medical and engineering courses in Hindi the following year.
The Health Ministry reports that India has 612 medical colleges (321 government colleges and 291 private colleges) with 91,927 MBBS undergraduate and 46,118 postgraduate seats. According to the Indian Nursing Council's annual report for 2021, the country has 5,162 nursing institutes.
Nonetheless, some medical community believes that beginning MBBS in Hindi is a retrograde move. Associations of physicians have cautioned that the elimination of language consistency will negatively influence medical education and the opportunities it provides.
They argue that medical education must conform to worldwide standards and organizations and that a multiple-language system will mislead students and lead to a decline in education quality.
Mr. Shastry stated, "Countries, such as Japan and Germany, adhere to the same philosophy and provide medical education in their languages. Even overseas pupils appear to manage well."
"Additionally, we know that 90% of the doctors, nurses, and pharmacologists we educate remain in the country and provinces to work. In this situation, learning the local language is advantageous. It puts patients at ease and eliminates communication barriers," he noted.
Mr. Shastry stated that the current focus is on creating textbooks in Indian languages, educating instructors, initiating capacity building, and preparing universities to accommodate this shift.
"We are hosting lectures and content production workshops at institutions nationwide. This initial phase will last three years, providing UG and PG programs in the major Indian languages. In addition to medical education, we are actively searching for additional disciplines in which students might profit from this change," he stated.
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