TN Medicos Protest Against National Exit Test by wearing black badges
Chennai: Protest against the National Exit Test (NExT) got escalated further in Tamil Nadu, as the students of government medical colleges across the State participated in a black-badge protest on Tuesday.
In fact, MBBS students belonging to government medical colleges in Thanjavur, Chennai, Tiruvarur, and Tiruchi also staged a demonstration demanding the withdrawal of the NExT Exam.
Describing the black-badge protest as a token strike, the President of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA), Dr. Keerthy Varman informed Medical Dialogues that further steps will be taken on the basis of the reaction from the authorities.
"All over the State, the UG medical students participated in the black-badge protest against the NExT examination. We have requested the Central Government to ban NExT. Students from some of the colleges staged a demonstration also. This is just a token strike, just a beginning for requesting the Centre against the NExT exam," he said.
When asked about their next plan of action, he mentioned, "We are waiting for the response from the Union Government as well as the State Government. The State Government had written a letter to the Centre against the NExT exam. We thank our Chief Minister for taking this action. The Medical Universities in Tamil Nadu are also against the NExT exam."
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.
This comes after recently NMC organised an webinar to address the concerns and doubts of medical students regarding the National Exit Test. Meanwhile, NMC has also released the Information Brochure for the exam, announcing that All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi will be in charge of conducting the examination.
Also Read: Direct NMC to Reconsider Proposal for NExT Exam, IMA Urges Central Govt
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. Students had been protesting across the country against the implementation of the examination for the 2019 batch.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, the medical students belonging to the government medical colleges across the State had decided to hold a black badge protest on Tuesday as a symbol of protest against the implementation of the NExT examination.
As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the final-year students and the pre-final year students of Government Stanley Medical College protested against NExT by wearing black badges. Referring to the confusion and lack of clarity regarding the NExT examination, P. B. Vignesh from TNMSA, which organised the protest, told the Daily, "There is a lot of confusion among students. According to NMC’s announcement, the test will be held for the 2019 batch of students. A mock test has been announced without any prior information. This is like imposing the test on students. We held a rally in Chennai after NMC’s draft notification in 2019.”
Commenting on the MCQ pattern of questions in the NExT examination, the vice-president of Government Stanley Medical College Student Council, Kavi Priya K said, "Students, when preparing for the test, will focus only on MCQs pattern and not on clinical knowledge. The current university pattern tests both practical and theoretical know-how. Clinical knowledge is essential for a good doctor." Referring to the proposal of the exam being held over three days for a total of six-and-a-half hours, she asked, “Students need to study 23 subjects in 10 months. How can they cope?”
Clarifying that the students do not want the NExT exam to be postponed but they want it to be banned altogether, the President of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA), Dr. Keerthy Varman told Medical Dialogues, "This NexT exam is not only against students, it is against State autonomy and the autonomy of the State medical universities also. The degrees were given to us by the State Universities only. So the final year examination should only be conducted by the State Universities and not by the Central Government."
"There was no discussion regarding the implementation of the examination. NExT is going to change the whole medical education system. So, they must have discussed the matter with the States at the very least. But there was no discussion- not for NEET, not for the District Residency Programme for the Postgraduates. In the same way, they are bringing NExT exam without any discussions," he added.
Referring to how the NExT exam will force final year MBBS students to focus on theoretical knowledge rather than clinical training, he further mentioned, "No exam can make a good doctor. Patient care and bedside learning are most important for making a good doctor."
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