Hindi Heartland Medical Students Can Write Exams In ‘Hinglish’

In a country like India that boasts of an unmatched linguistic diversity, students often English a tough skill to acquire. A lot of research has gone into Indian English and the problems of education in English especially with considerable number of students giving up courses they wish to pursue for lack of the linguistic skill.

But a University in Madhya Pradesh seems to have found what it sees as a solution for students who have trouble with English. As reported by The Financial Express, students of he Madhya Pradesh Medical University (MPMU) will now be permitted to give their exams in ‘Hinglish’.

The university released a circular last week which, as quoted by the daily, reads

This step has been taken “ to facilitate the interest of students who for some reason are unable to give their paper in English properly despite having sound knowledge of their subjects”. This facility extends to oral and practical exams too. So the students who would struggle to recollect a particular term in English will no longer be reprimanded if they use the word in Hindi and continue with the rest of the answer in English.

The circular, signed by the vice-chancellor of MPMU Dr R S Sharma also mentions that this decision is also “to ensure that national language Hindi gets its rightful place in the academic world”.

According to The Indian Express, he said a student can now write ‘hart ka daura’ instead of ‘heart attack’ in the examination.

Although the goals can be seen as noble, the effect of permitting such code mixing in education, with the already dwindling status of language competency among children, is a matter that would need to be looked into.