RGUHS to make Kannada compulsory subject
TNN | Jun 30, 2019, 10.04 AM IST
MANGALURU: From this academic year, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science (RGUHS) is all set to introduce Kannada as a compulsory subject at the undergraduate level (medical, dental, nursing and others), for non-Kannada speaking students.
The 40-hour Kannada course aims to prepare students from other states to learn the language, to make it easy for them to converse with patients and others. Dr S Sacchidanand, vice-chancellor, RGHUS, told TOI that this is a 40-hour course which is compulsory for first-year students of MBBS, BDS, nursing and other courses taught at the university.
Explaining why the course was introduced, Sacchidanand, who was in Mangaluru to preside over a syndicate meeting, explained that about 25 per cent to 30 per cent of MBBS and BDS students, and almost 70 per cent of nursing students, who enrol for medical studies in Karnataka, are non-Kannadigas. "The RGHUS has specially prepared a book called 'Balake Kannada,' which contains language used to carry out day-to-day business in Kannada. Apart from it, students will also be given a Kannada-English dictionary for learning more words," said Dr Sacchidanand. When asked, whether there will be an exam conducted on the subject, he replied in the affirmative.
Dr H S Ballal, pro chancellor, MAHE, said it's a good move, and will help medicos in interacting with patients who cannot speak English or Hindi. MAHE has similar language classes for its students, and various languages are taught to them, he said. There are also interpreters during practical examinations, he added. Sakshi Paul K, a third-year MBBS student, who hails from Delhi, and is studying in Mangaluru, said that knowing the local language has its advantages. "Being in the medical line, patients feel more comfortable talking to people who can talk in their mother tongue. It's difficult to communicate with hospital staff such as nurses, cleaners, relatives of patient and others if we don not know their mother tongue. Apart from it, even in day-to-day life, communicating with small shopkeepers, autorickshaw drivers and others, they prefer being friendly and more helpful to Kannada-speaking folk instead of those like us, who do not speak the language," he said.
According to Madhu, who is an MBBS, it's a good idea for students from outside the state to learn Kannada. "You need to know Kannada to converse with patients here in Karnataka, and can't practise medicine without knowing the language. Most candidates studying in medical colleges here don't speak Kannada, so it will be very useful for them."
TNN | Jun 30, 2019, 10.04 AM IST
MANGALURU: From this academic year, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science (RGUHS) is all set to introduce Kannada as a compulsory subject at the undergraduate level (medical, dental, nursing and others), for non-Kannada speaking students.
The 40-hour Kannada course aims to prepare students from other states to learn the language, to make it easy for them to converse with patients and others. Dr S Sacchidanand, vice-chancellor, RGHUS, told TOI that this is a 40-hour course which is compulsory for first-year students of MBBS, BDS, nursing and other courses taught at the university.
Explaining why the course was introduced, Sacchidanand, who was in Mangaluru to preside over a syndicate meeting, explained that about 25 per cent to 30 per cent of MBBS and BDS students, and almost 70 per cent of nursing students, who enrol for medical studies in Karnataka, are non-Kannadigas. "The RGHUS has specially prepared a book called 'Balake Kannada,' which contains language used to carry out day-to-day business in Kannada. Apart from it, students will also be given a Kannada-English dictionary for learning more words," said Dr Sacchidanand. When asked, whether there will be an exam conducted on the subject, he replied in the affirmative.
Dr H S Ballal, pro chancellor, MAHE, said it's a good move, and will help medicos in interacting with patients who cannot speak English or Hindi. MAHE has similar language classes for its students, and various languages are taught to them, he said. There are also interpreters during practical examinations, he added. Sakshi Paul K, a third-year MBBS student, who hails from Delhi, and is studying in Mangaluru, said that knowing the local language has its advantages. "Being in the medical line, patients feel more comfortable talking to people who can talk in their mother tongue. It's difficult to communicate with hospital staff such as nurses, cleaners, relatives of patient and others if we don not know their mother tongue. Apart from it, even in day-to-day life, communicating with small shopkeepers, autorickshaw drivers and others, they prefer being friendly and more helpful to Kannada-speaking folk instead of those like us, who do not speak the language," he said.
According to Madhu, who is an MBBS, it's a good idea for students from outside the state to learn Kannada. "You need to know Kannada to converse with patients here in Karnataka, and can't practise medicine without knowing the language. Most candidates studying in medical colleges here don't speak Kannada, so it will be very useful for them."
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