Confusion Prevails over Conduction of National Exit Test- NEXT Exam Medicos Continue Protest

New Delhi: Medical students across the country are still not clear regarding the conduction of the National Exit Test (NExT) and especially about the way of implementation and the applicability of the examination.

This lack of clarity is due to the fact that while the National Medical Commission (NMC) had earlier announced that the exam shall be conducted by AIIMS Delhi in 2024 for the final year MBBS batch, in a viral video of an event at AIIMS Raipur, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was heard contradicting this announcement.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Union Health Minister had announced that there will be no NExT exam for the 2019 MBBS batch and the exam will not replace the final MBBS exams. However, no official notification has been released by the authorities in this regard yet.

Addressing the query raised by the doctor/student regarding the upcoming NExT examination, the Health Minister had mentioned, "There is no need for students to take any stress. I am not bringing 2019 batch under the criteria of NExT. I will be bringing 2020 batch under the ambit of NExT. Therefore, there will be no NExT this year."

"Further, final exam will not be replaced with NExT, rather the NEET PG exam will be replaced with NExT and this will be linked to medical registration. So, doctors will get their degree but to practice they will have to clear NExT. Both the Government and the NMC will not take any decision that will cause confusion among the students," the Minister further added.

This announcement by the Union Health Minister implies that for the purpose of the degree, the final year MBBS will still be the benchmark. However, NExT will be acting as a licentiate exam required by doctors to practice in India and will also be replacing NEET-PG as the benchmark exam for PG medical entrance.

There has been no announcements from the National Medical Commission (NMC) yet after the video of Minister Mandaviya clarifying that 2019 MBBS batch will not appear in NExT exam went viral. 

This has created major confusion among the medical students. While some of the students have started organising protests, some have been voicing their concerns on social media platforms.

Meanwhile, vice-chancellors of medical universities in Kerala have also opposed conducting phase I of the NExT examination as a replacement for the final examinations of the MBBS course. They have clearly stated that the universities do not hold the responsibility of issuing degrees for the examinations that will be conducted by any external agencies.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the NMC NExT Regulations, 2023, were published in the official Gazette on June 28, 2023. "These Regulations shall come into force at once from the date of their publication in the official Gazette," mentioned the apex medical commission.

However, opposing the decision of conducting the NExT exam for the 2019 batch, the students and doctors termed it to be a violation of NMC Act, 2019. According to Section 49 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, "(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, any student who was studying for a degree, diploma or certificate in any medical institution immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue to so study and complete his course for such degree, diploma or certificate, and such institution shall continue to provide instructions and examination for such student in accordance with the syllabus and studies as existed before such commencement, and such student shall be deemed to have completed his course of study under this Act and shall be awarded degree, diploma or certificate under this Act."

Referring to this, doctors pointed out that the 2019 MBBS batch started on August 1, 2019, i.e. the batch started before the publication of the NMC Act 2019. The doctors argued that conducting NExT for the 2019 batch would be violation of the NMC Act 2019.

Also Read: Direct NMC to Reconsider Proposal for NExT Exam, IMA Urges Central Govt

Opposition from Vice-Chancellors of Universities: 

As per the latest media report by Mathrubhumi, the vice-chancellors of medical universities also strongly opposed the decision of conducting NExT Phase I examination in lieu of the licentiate final examinations of MBBS. In this regard, the Association of Health Science Universities have submitted a petition to NMC and said that discussions should be held with the universities before implementing the reform.

While NMC earlier indicated that NExT would replace the final year MBBS examination, PG medical entrance examination, and Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

However, the vice-chancellors of medical universities have stated that they will not hold the responsibility of issuing degrees for examinations conducted by external agencies.

Currently, according to the norms, the universities provide licentiate degrees to those who successfully complete the mandatory internship programme after clearing their final year MBBS examination.

On the other hand, referring to the NExT examination, the VCs have argued that those who have completed their course on the basis of the current curriculum will find it challenging to follow the new norms.

Referring to this, the association has opined that the move to implement this rule from the current year onwards should be abandoned. VC of the Health University and also the president of the Association Dr. Mohan Kunnumal told the Daily that NExT phase one should replace NEET-PG examination and phase two of the exam should be made the licentiate examination.

Black Badge Protest in Tamil Nadu: 

Protesting against the NExT examination, the medical students belonging to the government medical colleges across Tamil Nadu decided to hold black badge protest on Tuesday. The New Indian Express adds that the protest will be led by the Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association and Doctors Association for Social Equality. The next course of action shall be decided after holding a discussion with the students.

Commenting on the implementation of the NExT examination, Dr. P B Vignesh, a house sugeon at Thanjavur Government Medical College told TNIE, “This will be an additional burden to MBBS students as they cannot prepare for competitive exams while doing their internship. During the internship period, students are burdened with work in wards and it will be difficult to prepare for a competitive exam.”

“To pass NExT, students should take six exams in three days. It also carries negative marks. This will make MBBS students concentrate more on theory and not on practicals. They will not have clinical knowledge. In the present system of one year internship, students gain more clinical knowledge. This competitive exam will add stress on students,” a final year MBBS student at Tiruvarur Government Medical College added.

While commenting on conducting the NExT examination, the General Secretary of the Doctors Association for Social Equality (DASE), Dr. G R Ravindranath told the Daily, “This is an attempt by the union government to centralise medical education. They cannot take powers from the state universities. DASE along with TNMSA will conduct a statewide conference to get the opinion of the students on NExT.”

Speaking to Medical Dialogues in this regard, the President of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association, Dr. Keerthy Varman said, "We are completely against the implementation of NExT examination. Previously we opposed the NEET examination as well and even Madhya Pradesh and other States had opposed the same. We believe that centralising the examination will have a negative impact on students who come from lower socio economical background as they are unable to afford coaching classes. Same is applicable for the NExT examination as well.

"NExT will collapse the existing medical education system. We have to remember that the medical universities across the country have different pattern of examination and the exam pattern also varies from one state to another. Now, with the implementation of NExT, they are trying to grab the powers of the State Universities. Without a proper plan for implementation, NExT should not be implemented for all the students across the country," he further added.