Is NExT exam happening? NMC says Implementation, Preparedness being examined
New Delhi: The implementation and preparedness for the National Exit Test (NExT) examination is being examined by a committee constituted by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the National Medical Commission (NMC) informed in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query in this regard.
Filing the RTI application, Health Activist Dr. Vivek Pandey sought to know about the final draft of the upcoming NExT examination, and the details of the outcome of the meeting held in June 2023 regarding the upcoming NExT exam.
In response to the same, the NMC informed, "National Exit Test (NExT) regulations have been notified in Gazette of India on 28.06.2023 and are available in public domain... Further, vide public notice dated 13.07.2023, the NExT examination is deferred on the advice of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India vide notice dated 11.07.2023, till further directions from MoHFW."
"It is also informed that Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has constituted a Committee to examine the implementation and preparedness for NExT examination under the chairmanship of DGHS vide Order No .V.11025/321/2022-MEP (FTS:8180688) dated 03.10.2023," the Commission further added.
Even though the National Exit Test was earlier scheduled to be conducted in 2023, later it was postponed indefinitely following objections from the members of the medical fraternity regarding the implementation of this proposed common exit exam. Last year, the Union Health Ministry set up a committee to examine the issue. However, till now, the confusion regarding the NExT exam continues.
Referring to the same, Dr. Vivek Pandey told Medical Dialogues, "The NEXT exam for the 2019 batch has been postponed, but there is still no clarity on whether the 2020 batch will have to take the NEXT exam. The final draft of the NEXT exam has not been released yet. This exam merges the final year MBBS, NEET PG, and FMGE into a single test. The government should provide all the details soon to relieve students from the mental pressure and allow them to start their studies at the right time."
NExT Controversy:
The issue of the NExT exam has been making waves in the medical fraternity ever since its first announcement. Although last year NMC released the NExT regulations and announced conducting the exam for the 2019 MBBS batch, it was ultimately put on hold for an indefinite time.
NMC NExT Regulations, 2023, were published in the official Gazette on June 28, 2023, and a mock test for the NExT exam was scheduled to be held on July 28 2023 by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
However, opposing the decision to conduct the NExT exam for the 2019 batch, the students and doctors termed it to be a violation of the NMC Act, 2019. Referring to the 2019 Act, the 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. Therefore, the doctors argued that conducting NExT for the 2019 batch would be a violation of the NMC Act 2019.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry intervened and NMC deferred the NExT examination until further notice from the Ministry. Thereafter, the Union Health Ministry has constituted a seven-member committee to look into the preparedness of States and medical colleges for the implementation of the exam for the final year MBBS students of the 2020 batch.
Amidst the debate and uncertainty regarding the conduct of the NExT exam, NMC made the issue open to all the stakeholders. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the stakeholders were asked to submit their opinion on whether the NExT exam should replace the conventional MBBS final year exam, held separately in addition to the MBBS final year exam, or be conducted in any other manner.
Further, the stakeholders were asked to share their opinions on various aspects such as the time manner, exam pattern, way of conducting exam, syllabus of NExt and several other issues.
Also Read: NExT exam likely in March 2029? Here is what NMC CBME guidelines say
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