New Delhi: Changing its earlier stand regarding MBBS studies in local languages, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has now allowed teaching learning and assessment using bilingual mode along with the English language.
NMC mentioned this in the recently released Competency-Based Medical Education Regulations (CBME) 2024, which laid down the rules and regulations regarding the MBBS course.
Specifying the "Phase Wise Training and Time Distribution for Professional Development", the Apex Medical Commission mentioned that "Teaching learning and assessment may be carried out using bilingual mode ( Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu) along with English language."
Therefore, from now on, students can undergo undergraduate medical education i.e. MBBS course in local languages such as Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu also.
NMC has now encouraged providing MBBS education in regional languages including Hindi, when previously in 2021, the Apex Medical Commission had clarified that MBBS courses would not be feasible and such courses would not receive recognition from the NMC.
Back then, the plan of providing medical education in Hindi was being considered in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. However, clarifying that no State Government had approached the Commission with such a proposal, NMC had further added that it did not have any plans of amending the norms for allowing medicine courses in any other language except for English.
Also Read: MBBS in Hindi Not to be Recognized: NMC
However, following this, in 2022, the Union Government also proposed implementing Hindi or regional languages as a medium of instruction for professional courses including MBBS.
The Madhya Pradesh Government decided to teach three MBBS subjects- anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry in Hindi to the first-year MBBS students in all government medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh.
Apart from this, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah had also launched the first MBBS course in Hindi in the country, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
This led to a Hindi vs English controversy in the medical education sector as members of the medical fraternity expressed their concern that running MBBS courses in local languages such as Hindi might result in worsening the quality of medical education in India.
Issuing a Press Release, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) had also expressed similar opinions regarding the initiative and expressed the possibility that MBBS in Hindu might harm the national interest in the long run.
Referring to the Hindi vs English debate that has been going on in the country for a long time, FAIMA mentioned in the release, "The moot point here is producing world class doctors to serve our people while simultaneously ensuring that the services sector is strengthened as doctors from India are serving in different countries contributing to the prestige of our country."
Therefore, alleging that the recent push by the Central Government towards Hindi translation of medical textbooks is a policy framed with good intent but bad planning, FAIMA had pointed out, "The current issue of Hindi translation of medical textbook is fraught with many problems. Primary among them is the standardisation of medical lexicon into Hindi and producing a set of doctors who will always face some issues while mingling with their peers abroad. While the example of some European countries is given to justify the step we tend to forget that India is known world over for its booming BP0 sector which was possible only because of thrust on English language."
Also Read: MBBS in Hindi may harm National Interest in Long Run: FAIMA