RAIPUR: The MBBS course will be offered in Hindi in Chhattisgarh from the 2024-25 academic session, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced on Saturday.
The language will be a medium of instruction in all government medical colleges in Chhattisgarh, Sai told reporters on the Hindi Day. “This move is being taken keeping in view the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to encourage and promote Hindi language in professional courses.”
“Our government has taken a big decision on Hindi Diwas. The MBBS course will now also be taught in Hindi. Books in Hindi will be introduced in the first year from this session (2024-25). The health department has been asked to arrange study materials,” he said.
Emphasising the significance of the Hindi Day, the CM said the initiative to promote the language in all spheres of governance, administration and education is inspired by the Prime Minister’s announcement in February 2022 during a rally in Unnao of Uttar Pradesh.
Now this will be accomplished in Chhattisgarh which has 10 government medical colleges, the chief minister said.
“The move will benefit students from rural areas since they mostly come from Hindi-medium schools and face difficulty in medical courses despite being talented due to the use of English language. Studying in Hindi will strengthen their basics, help them develop a deep understanding of the subject and make them good doctors,” Sai said.
The move was part of efforts to “change our education policy at every level from the old Macaulay imperialist education policy,” he said, adding the National Education Policy had been fully implemented in the state. The NEP 2020 promotes teaching in regional languages to improve the connect between teachers and students.
Hindi Diwas commemorates the decision of the Constituent Assembly on September 14, 1949 to designate Hindi, written in Devanagari script, as the official language of India.
Two years ago, the Madhya Pradesh government had decided to start the MBBS course in Hindi from the 2022-23 academic session. Besides, then CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced that BTech degree and polytechnic diploma courses, in six colleges each, would be taught in Hindi.
Experts in the medical field have expressed reservations over the move because of the unavailability of books in the language on the subject.