Parliamentary panel reiterates need for NExT exam, AIIMS-led mentorship for medical colleges
New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare recently reiterated the need for implementation of the National Exit Test (NExT) exam to ensure a uniform, standardised assessment of medical graduates across the country.
According to a recent PTI report, in its 167th report presented to the Rajya Sabha, the panel said NExT would bring a paradigm shift in medical education. The Committee also renewed its recommendation for an AIIMS-led mentorship framework, proposing that India be divided into zones with premier institutions such as AIIMS acting as mentor institutes for medical colleges within each zone.
Reiterating its earlier recommendation, the panel further stated that introduction of NExT will instill a universal and standardized assessment of medical graduates having uniform level of knowledge and skills and ultimately leading to quality medical education and training across the country.
In its report, the panel said that it was in agreement with the Health ministry that NExT indicate a paradigm shift in teaching methods, learning approaches, critical assessment through MBBS courses.
It therefore, recommended that the committee reconstituted under the Chairmanship of Members, NITI Aayog submit its recommendation at the first opportunity for implementation of NExT Exam as per pre-conceived schedule.
AIIMS as mentor institute:
"The committee reiterates its recommendation that the government should divide India into different zones and in each zone reputed institutes like AIIMS can function as mentor institutes for all the other medical colleges in that zone.
"Mentor institutes shall play a significant role in monitoring the standard of education and the classes in the newly set medical colleges or private medical colleges," the report said.
Furthermore, the Committee urged the National Medical Commission to frame clear guidelines for establishing new medical colleges in states with fewer than 100 MBBS seats per million population and recommended opening more medical colleges in Delhi.
Expressing concern over affordability, the panel noted that MBBS education costs Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore in many colleges, effectively excluding poorer families. It recommended applying state government fee structures to 50 per cent of seats in private medical colleges, regulating the remaining seats through state fee committees, and introducing need-based scholarships.
The report also highlighted faculty shortages, especially in remote areas, calling for better incentives, job security and structured career progression. It endorsed NMC’s Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system to curb ghost faculty, supported expansion of domestic medical education to reduce reliance on foreign medical graduates, reiterated backing for the NExT exam, and proposed an AIIMS-led mentorship model to ensure uniform education standards nationwide.
The committee also observed that, in view of huge number of MBBS aspiring students and limited MBBS seats in various colleges, high number of students seek admission outside the country.
However, the foreign medical graduate have to face the herculean challenges in passing license examination and seeking permanent registration across various states.
The Foreign Medical Graduate Regulation 2021 mandates one year of compulsory rotating medical internship as an additional training in medical education hospitals or in big non-teaching hospitals.
Since, to some extent, foreign medical graduates is useful in maintaining the doctor to population ratio, therefore, the committee reiterated its recommendation that FMG Regulations 2021 should act as facilitator thereby streamlining the registration and internship procedures while keeping the quality assurance of the Indian healthcare system.
"In order to improve the doctor-to-population ratio and to reduce the reliance on foreign medical graduates it would be appropriate for the government to encourage expansion of medical colleges in the country to accommodate the education of MBBS aspiring students in the country itself," the panel said.
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