NExT likely to be Conducted by AIIMS in 2024: Health Ministry Sources

New Delhi: As per a recent announcement made regarding the National Exit Test (NExT) the Health Ministry officials have reportedly stated that the test will be held in 2024. 

It is likely that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi may conduct the test instead of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), but no decision has yet been taken in this regard.

The government had in September last year invoked the provisions of the NMC Act by which the time limit for conducting the NExT exam for the final year MBBS was extended till September 2024. Under the NMC Act, the Commission has to conduct a common final year undergraduate medical examination, NExT, as specified by regulations within three years of it coming into force. The Act came into force in September 2020. The timeline was extended last year, officials stated.

Conducting the NExT exam requires preparations such as working out the modalities and deciding on the syllabus, type and pattern of the examination, whether it will be an analytical or a multiple choice questions based test, and the number of tests and requisite regulations, among others, officials said, adding that students will also have to be given adequate time to prepare.

Mock tests would need to be carried out before the main test is held. The importance of the NExT exam lies in the fact that it will be the same for everyone, whether trained in India or any part of the world, and hence, it will solve the problem of foreign medical graduates (FMGs)/mutual recognition, officials said.

As of now, final year MBBS examinations are conducted by respective colleges, while the NEET-PG and FMGE are conducted by NBE.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that NExT, a common exit exam envisaged by the government to standardize medical education across the country, was proposed by NMC as a part of the bill passed in the year 2019.

Also Read:Beware of fake NExT exam alert viral on social media

Section 15 of the NMC Act provides for the conduct of a common final year undergraduate examination, to be known as the National Exit Test (NExT) which shall be the basis for Registration to practice medicine, admission to PG medical courses and Screening Test for foreign medical graduates to practice modern medicine.

The NExT was supposed to be operational within three years from the commencement of the NMC Act, 2019 and conducted through a designated authority and in such a manner as may be specified by regulations. The Act came into force in September 2020.

Although NMC finally released the proposed draft regulations related to NExT and put an end to the speculations regarding the manner of exam and other details, it did not specify which body would conduct the test.

As per the proposed amendments, after Section 27 of the NMC Act 2019, Section 27A shall be added and it will specify the powers, functions and duties of the Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (BEMS). The public notice specifying the proposed amendments stated that along with its other responsibilities, BEMS will also "conduct National EXIT test."

Since there was no clarity regarding the much-speculated examination, fake news regarding this was doing rounds on the social media platforms. Recently, once such fake notification claimed that the NExT exam will be held in the later half of 2023 and AIIMS will conduct Part I of the examination. 

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, amidst all such conjectures, the Health Ministry on Thursday announced that the NExT will be held from 2024. The Daily further adds that the exam is likely to be conducted by AIIMS, Delhi, which will test both the clinical and practical learning of the students.

Referring to the withdrawal of recognition of 38 medical colleges, and the fact that 102 colleges have been issued show-cause notice, the Health Ministry also noted that 24 medical colleges have appealed to NMC and six to the Ministry. In this regard, the Ministry assured that the existing students will not suffer due to this.

Commenting on this, a senior Health Ministry official told the daily, “This is a routine process that is conducted by the NMC which is the apex medical regulator to ensure that these teaching institutes have no deficiencies. The issues for which colleges are facing flak from the regulators include staff shortage, shortage of doctors, patients not being available to students, staff not marking attendance on biometric system, colleges not being able to implement the new ‘camera, biometric, and health management system-based monitoring’ etc. Unless colleges have serious deficiencies, they are likely to be recognised again for the current session.’’ He further mentioned that these numbers are dynamic and depend on the appeals taken up over the next two months. 

Also Read: NEXT likely to be conducted by AIIMS: NMC awaits Health Ministry Nod