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Uttar Pradesh ready to turn over new leaf with Hindi books for medical students
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a high-powered committee that will work on the medical education curriculum in Hindi. Madhya Pradesh recently introduced books in Hindi for medical students.
The Uttar Pradesh government has set in motion the process to give medical students in the state the option to study their course books in Hindi in addition to English texts.
The Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a high-powered committee that will work on the medical education curriculum in Hindi. Madhya Pradesh recently introduced books in Hindi for medical students.
“A committee has been formed to evaluate introduction of books in Hindi for medical students in the state,” said Shruti Singh, director general, medical education, Uttar Pradesh.
On October 15, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced at a function in Moradabad medical and engineering education would be soon imparted in Hindi, too, in the state. He had also tweeted on the issue the same day: “From next year, medical and engineering students in Uttar Pradesh will have the opportunity to study course books in Hindi.”
The books in Hindi introduced for MBBS students in Madhya Pradesh will be evaluated first to decide if all, or some of them, can be beneficial for students in Uttar Pradesh. Then, subject experts who may write (medical) books in Hindi as per requirement will be identified in Uttar Pradesh.
These experts will be picked from across medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh, particularly those who have written some books on medical issues in the past.
“English books will not be replaced but Hindi books will come as an addition,” a committee member said.
“Most importantly, we will ensure there is no compromise on the quality of the content. Each book and chapter will be evaluated before being introduced at medical institutes,” said a senior official in the medical education department.
Uttar Pradesh has 45 medical colleges and 14 more are under construction.
WHY THE NEED FOR BOOKS IN HINDI
Experts said the need for medical books in Hindi was felt since long.
Every year, a large number of students face a language problem as they are not well-versed in English. Special English classes are run for such medical students. But if the books are in Hindi, it will help students, who are not comfortable with English, to perform better right from the day one, the experts said.
“Before starting anatomy, physiology or bio-chemistry in the first year MBBS, students are taught English,” said Prof Suryakant, head of the department of pulmonary medicine, at King George’s Medical University, who wrote his thesis in Hindi in 1991.
His thesis in Hindi was accepted only after a resolution was passed for the same in the state assembly.
“I was the first one to submit thesis in Hindi. Hence, it took long to convince and finally a resolution from state assembly,” said Prof Suryakant, who was a member of the medical education committee in Madhya Pradesh that recently worked on introduction of MBBS books in Hindi.
“Books in Hindi will help students understand the topics easily. With books available in Hindi, the English classes in first year MBBS may not be required,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, Association of International Doctors.
HINDI BOOK ON SURGERY
The MBBS syllabus currently has only one book that explains a subject — surgery — in Hindi, but it is not part of the list of prescribed books though it is based on the syllabus.
“This book is written by Prof TC Goel, who was my teacher. This book is popular because of the language and I hope more such books, particularly in the curriculum and in the college library, will help many students,” said Prof Suryakant.
“The book, “Adhunik Shalya Chikitsa Vigyan”, was written over a period of 15 years and finally got published in 2015. We are still getting the royalty from its sale every year,” said Prof Apul Goel, son of Dr Trilok Chandra Goel, the author of the book.
Dr Trilok Chandra Goel was a senior faculty in the department of surgery at the King George’s Medical University and retired in 1999-2000. The 1000-page book is read by MBBS and MS (surgery) students primarily. Prof Apul Goel is a senior faculty in the urology department at KGMU.
