BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Thursday constituted a committee to examine essentials required to provide medical education in Odia language in the state. The decision coincides with the direction of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to use Odia in all official works.
The 22-member panel headed by vice-chancellor of Odisha University of Health Sciences (OUHS), Bhubaneswar Prof Manash Ranjan Sahoo has been mandated to examine the matter and identify essential course books for MBBS education required to be translated into Odia language.
The committee has been directed to assess the volume of works to be taken up for the purpose, and work out the timelines and budget requirements for undertaking the task. It will also submit a detailed proposal to the Health and Family Welfare department within 15 days for taking further action on the matter.
Other members of the committee comprise eight faculty members from AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, two each from SCB Medical College at Cuttack and PRM Medical College at Baripada, and one each from MKCG at Berhampur, Sundargarh, Puri, Koraput and Jajpur Medical Colleges.
While registrar of OUHS is the member convenor, programme advisor of Odia Bhasha Pratisthan Premananda Mohapatra has also been made a member of the committee.
If medical education is taught in Odia, Odisha will be the second state after Madhya Pradesh to teach MBBS courses in regional languages other than English. MP had released Hindi textbooks for first-year medical students in 2022.