After flip flops on NExT, NMC now seeks public feedback on the medical test’s feasibility
National Medical Commission has asked students, faculty and institutions whether a single test can replace final year MBBS exams & entrance test for PG seats in medical colleges.
26 January, 2024 06:32 pm IST
New Delhi: Last year saw several flip flops by the National Medical Commission (NMC) over when the National Exit Test (NExT) — a singular qualifying examination to replace three existing exams in the field of medicine — should be implemented.
But the apex medical education regulator now seems unsure about the basic premise of the test and has sought feedback from students, faculty members and institutions on whether a single test can replace the final year Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) exams and entrance test for post-graduate (PG) seats in medical colleges.
The NMC Act of 2019 envisaged NExT as a singular qualifying examination to replace three existing exams in the field of medicine — the final MBBS exams, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for post-graduate seats (NEET-PG), and the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) for foreign medical graduates to practice medicine in India.
The Act stated that qualifying in NExT shall be a must — within three years of the Act getting notified — for every MBBS pass out to receive a license to practice medicine in India.
But in a public notice issued this week, the NMC has sought opinions from stakeholders on the NExT regulations issued last year which were later withdrawn at the behest of the Union health ministry following an outcry from students.
In an accompanying form, the stakeholders have been asked basic questions such as whether the NExT exam should replace the conventional MBBS final year exam or if the NMC should hold separate tests in addition to the MBBS final year exam.
The NMC also wants the stakeholder to share whether the NExT exam can serve as a qualifying exam for MBBS final year students, licensing and admission to the PG course, apart from their opinion on whether the exam should be held in retrospective or prospective manner.
Last year, the NMC had announced that from 2024 onwards, the NExT exam would be conducted twice a year, meaning that the 2019 batch of MBBS students would have to clear it to get their degrees. This decision sparked an outcry from 2019 batch students and their parents, who filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court, arguing that it was unfair to subject their batch to the NExT, as the NMC Act was passed after they had taken admission in medical colleges.
Later, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the exam would not be held in 2024 and that the government would refrain from taking any decisions regarding NExT that could cause “confusion”.
His ministry also pointed out to the NMC several discrepancies in the NExT regulations, directing it to issue a fresh notification.
A senior NMC official who did not wish to be named said the latest initiative was aimed at understanding why the popular opinion is that the NExT should not be held.
“Unless we seek consultation from the stakeholders, we will not understand their point of view,” the official told ThePrint.
ThePrint reached NMC spokesperson Dr Yogender Malik for comment over phone. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Dr Aviral Mathur, president of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) — an association of resident doctors from across the country — told ThePrint that the latest NMC notice “was a long time coming”.
Meanwhile, Dr Karan Juneja, standing committee member of the IMA’s junior doctors’ division said that if NExT is implemented, it should be done with prior information, planning and changes in academic pattern.
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