Students respond positively to Kannada mandate: KMC dean

Mangaluru: Medical students have been responding positively to the directive requiring Kannada proficiency, as language skills are essential for clinical practice, said Dr B Unnikrishnan, dean of Kasturba Medical College.

“If they do not understand Kannada, they will not be able to take cases in the hospital,” he added.

The requirement was recently made mandatory by the district surgeon and superintendent of Wenlock District Hospital, citing communication gaps between medical students and patients.

Kannada classes, however, have been part of the college curriculum for the past 10–15 years. The teaching hospital has a tie-up with the college.

Dr Unnikrishnan said KMC, which admits students from across the country as well as local candidates, has ensured language training from the first year.

The college has 250 seats, of which around 80–100 students are from Karnataka, including those admitted through the all-India quota and the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) quota of 52 seats.

“We have special Kannada classes for all students so that they can interact with patients and others,” he said.

He added that the training focuses primarily on communication, with some emphasis on basic writing skills. The college has in-house Kannada teachers and provides English-to-Kannada learning books to students.

Nearly 90–95% of the faculty are Kannada-speaking and actively support students in learning the language, he said.

He also pointed out that while undergraduate students come from different regions, most doctors and consultants at Wenlock hospital are from Karnataka, many of them from Mangaluru.

Apart from language training, the institution also holds special programmes such as Kannada Diwasa and other events.that apart from language training other special programs such as Kannada Diwasa and other events are held at the institution.