While delivering the 11th convocation address at the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu appealed all the state governments to make mother tongue a compulsory subject up to high school level.
The Vice President said that a child when taught in mother tongue can grasp the teachings better and will be able to communicate and articulate the thoughts better in the mother tongue.
"We can usually express our thoughts much better in our mother language," he added.
He further said that the language and culture are intertwined and there is need to strengthen the languages including the ones which are spoken by the tribal groups.
"One must remember the past and plan for the future and move accordingly. We have to revert back to our roots, we have to know our culture," he added.
He further added "the society has given a lot to the medical students and they must give back to the society by way of serving the rural population by working at least for two years in rural areas."
"There is an acute shortage of doctors as also healthcare facilities in the rural area and drastic changes must be made to make healthcare accessible to everyone", he said.