In a big move Bihar government has decided to offer Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) courses in Hindi, making it the second state to do so after Madhya Pradesh.
State Health Minister Mangal Pandey announced on Tuesday that starting from the upcoming academic session, medical students will have the option to study MBBS in Hindi. "Under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Health Department of Bihar has taken this historic step after thorough discussions on necessary aspects, including the availability of Hindi textbooks for the MBBS course. This decision aligns with the government's goal of promoting Hindi and making it a global language," said Pandey.
The new Hindi course will follow the AIIMS Delhi syllabus for students who pass the NEET UG 2024 exam. Bihar, with approximately 85,000 government schools, uses Hindi as the primary medium of instruction.
Madhya Pradesh was the first state to introduce the MBBS curriculum in Hindi. Last year, Madhya Pradesh Education Minister Vishwas Sarang announced plans to offer the MBBS course in Hindi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the first MBBS course books in Hindi. However, months after its introduction, medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh observed that few students were interested in studying in Hindi.