The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Unani medicine students up in arms

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Saturday, Sep 29, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Unani medicine students up in arms

J.S. Ifthekhar

State Government’s move to change medium of instruction leads to trouble in college

— PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

IN FOCUS: A view of the Nizamia Tibbi College building (right) near Charminar.

Hyderabad: The State Government’s move to change the medium of instruction for Unani medicine from Urdu to English and Telugu has stirred up a real hornet’s nest.

There is a simmering discontent among staff and students of the Government Nizamia Tibbi College (NTC) here. The other day irate students gheraoed the principal and heads of department seeking withdrawal of the move.

Trouble started with the Department of Ayush asking the NTC principal to submit a report on the feasibility of changing the medium of instruction to English and to list out the Unani books which needs to be translated. A hurriedly convened meeting by the then Principal Khaja Ghouse Mohiuddin with the heads of departments, recently ended up in loud protests. The meeting unanimously resolved against changing the medium of instruction.

The whole idea, it is said, is aimed at facilitating the admission of SC, ST and BC students into the Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS) course. According to Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) rules, the medium of instruction of Unani medicine is Urdu.

Those seeking admission should have studied Intermediate with Biological sciences in Urdu or should have had at least one Urdu subject at 10+2. “Everyone is welcome to study Unani medicine provided one knows Urdu,” says Dr. Shaikh Mehboob, vice-president, Andhra Pradesh Unani Medical Officers Association.

There are 125 seats in BUMS – 75 at NTC, Hyderabad, and 50 in the Dr. Abdul Haque Unani Medical College, Kurnool. About half-a-dozen non-Urdu speaking students seek admission every year on the basis of language proficiency certificates issued by some institutes. However, this practice was stopped last year with the High Court directing the authorities to strictly follow the CCIM guidelines.

Dilution

Any attempt to change the medium of instruction will dilute the standard of education and also pose serious health consequences. Moreover it is not possible to impart Unani medicine in any other language since the books are available in Arabic and Persian language. It is also difficult to translate the Unani terminology without changing the meaning.

For instance ‘pneumonia’, an Arabic word, is adopted as it is in English. Similarly there are scores of such terms which just can not be translated, points out Dr. M.A. Farooqi of NTC.

However, the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes students feel they are being denied their fundamental right to learn and practice the Unani system of medicine. They want the rules to be relaxed by providing instruction in English, Hindi and regional language.

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