Launching professional courses in local languages all over India is going to help out a lot of students who face challenges in switching from their local language to English medium-instructed courses.
It has its own pros and cons.
MedBound Times took the opinion of various students from the MedBound community.
What do they actually think about this decision?
Lalitha Lavanya Shree (MedBound Profile), 4th-year Medical Student
In my perspective, if medical instruction is provided in Hindi, students would lose out on a lot of prospects.
For instance, I attend numerous conferences as a medical student, not just in India but all over the world, and they are all held in English! Hindi is not India's only language.
Therefore, it will be quite challenging to comprehend and communicate with patients! And even for students, it will be very challenging to comprehend the symptoms.
It would be impossible to obtain opportunities in foreign nations. For instance, if a student wishes to pursue a graduate degree in the USA, UK, or any other country in the future, their undergraduate degree may not even be recognized there!
Since India is a bilingual or multilingual nation, I believe students may miss out on opportunities, and introducing it may do more harm than good.
Dr. Ankit kadarge, BDS (MedBound profile)
"Modern medicine is truly universal. It is practiced not only in India but all over the world. Therefore, medical education cannot be taught solely through textbooks; it also involves frequently reading worldwide research papers, journals, and publications written in English. We've seen students from rural areas with no English background do well with the subjects and language. They adjust to their surroundings and grow. Thus, the government should prioritize infrastructure and education instead of medical education in regional languages."
Arati Shaw, BDS final year student (MedBound Profile)
Imparting professional courses in regional languages. It has both pros and cons.
With the legacy of English being the medium of study in the higher education system it is quite difficult to find the teaching faculty with such proficiency in the regional languages.
Easier for the professional to understand and solve the local problems but it is quite a task to maintain pace with the standards worldwide.
It narrows the job opportunities and disparity in translation The system of education should be Hindi/regional language plus English.
Naman Chaudhary, MBBS Student (MedBound Profile)
"I don't think so is a good idea to impart professional courses in native languages. If we see the majority of the population wants to seek in English language only. Nowadays students of Hindi medium or any other language can easily understand the English language. Because at some point in life they have to face English. And because of this step, they will be bound to a particular area of native languages."
Dr. Munish Raizada, CEO of Medbound, created a post on LinkedIn seeking users' opinions on providing education in the Hindi language. Some of these are given below:
A KATHIR KARUPPIAH, M.B.B.S Y2 | HPB & Liver Tx Research Fellow Asst. @ Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Center | MS 2 (MedBound profile)
"Imparting Medical Education in Hindi or the respective State's official language is a good idea as lakhs of students will be able to study in their own convenient language and doors for many new opportunities will also open for them. Making the M.B.B.S Course in the State's own language will bring a big positive change in the country. Recently even now our Honourable Home Minister Amit Shah Ji, released textbooks for three subjects in Hindi for MBBS students as part of an ambitious project of the Madhya Pradesh government to impart medical education in the Hindi language. Calling it an important day in history, Shah said Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to start the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) course in Hindi. Recently even now Uttarakhand Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat had said that the state will soon launch MBBS courses in the Hindi language. He had claimed that the move would help students from Hindi medium backgrounds compete better with their counterparts from English medium schools."
Dr.Gayathri Praveen, Medical Writer at Crixus Health (Medbound Profile)
I think it's a good idea...the idea of not being able to pursue/practice medicine or any life sciences just because language is the barrier has to be reformed...this idea surely impacts many sectors of people around the world... especially India with many regional languages.
Utkarsh Prakash, Linguist at Welocalize (Google On Site)
"From a linguistic point of view, it would be a great idea, but there are some hindrances to doing that. For eg, we have the option to learn Biology in Hindi at an intermediate level, but when an aspirant attempts NEET or a similar kind of exam, authenticated study materials are not available. If somehow they can access it, the next issue comes at the college level, where teachers give most of their knowledge in English because they studied their subjects in this medium. Also, the latest journals are published in English. So, if we really want to impart education in regional languages, we must have a good translation layer at each level from school to college. This may help eradicate the knowledge and communication gap between the stakeholders."
Umesh Rohatgi,Independent Civil Engineering Professional
"It is a good idea provided we have really good books not mere translations of English books."
Among such endeavors is Dr. Pankaj Agarwal’s project to simplify complex medical concepts for students in Hindi. http://medicalconceptsinhindi.in/
Aditi Kalra, Co-Founder, COO at Proactive Health360
"I think it’s a great idea. We know India is known for its diversity in language & religion, and we know how it is difficult for a person coming from an economically weaker section, they may not have access to learn English & it may pose as a hindrance for them to grow, but if they study in their local language they would stay at par with peer group in terms of learning. Also, In my opinion, it would be easy to impart medical services to remote or language barrier areas, where these doctors would be really helpful. It is always easy to explain your symptoms to a doctor in your local language than in some other language."
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