After years of struggle with english finally giant leap in medical education, teaching english in AIIMS is a good step !!
I am from Punjab and contrary to common beliefs that punjabis masters english after two pegs of whiskey, we usually are weak in english as most of our fellow Indian citizens.
But our education system is designed in such a way that we are not allowed to learn in our mother tongue or in other words it’s important to stay at par with western education system which enforces teaching & training in english.
I don’t have any problem with the english but the connotation attached to it that everyone knows english creates lots of problem. This puts tremendous pressure on students who perform poor in academics & hesitates to seek help presuming embarrassment from colleagues who will laugh on them that they want to become doctor but don’t know english. This enforcement of English without proper teaching leaves us orphan without knowing any language with command.
Today i can speak & read with ease 2 languages mainly Punjabi & Hindi (Not sanskritised but common Hindi) with some difficulties English & understands Urdu. But if i introspect myself then i realised that i don’t know any language completely. I can’t read, write, speak any single language fluently without difficulties.
One of my friend in MBBS days who belongs to indigenous community has seen facing embarrassment on various occasions because of the little knowledge of english and at the end of the proff i have seen his book which have translated every english word with hindi meaning on it. He almost translated an elephant sized book to hindi which is tiring as well as cumbersome. But most of us are left with no other alternatives.
So no one can doubt the importance of language in higher education and I am happy that AIIMS understoods the problem of students who are seriously struggling to understand English and get ready to arrange classes. Great step to make learning more enjoyable & more importantly understandable. I hope all medical colleges must teach english.