New Delhi: The National Exit Test (NExT) examination has been postponed until further notice by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued confirmation in this regard in a public notice issued today. NMC informed in the notice that the NExT exam has been postponed on the advice of the Ministry.
“All interested parties are hereby informed that the examination of the National Exit Test (NExT) is postponed on the advice of the Ministry, dated 11/07/2023, until further instructions from the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Family,” the letter issued by the NMC Secretary stated. Dr. Pulkesh Kumar.
The NMC notice was shared by Dr. Yogender Malik, Member, NMC Medical Registration and Ethics Board (EMRB).
Medical Dialogues previously reported that medical students across the country were confused about the implementation of the NExT exam. While it was earlier announced that the exam would be implemented from the 2019 MBBS batch onwards, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced at a recent event at AIIMS Raipur that there will be no NExT exam for to the MBBS 2019 batch and that the exam will not take the place of the MBBS final exams.
During an event held at AIIMS Raipur, the Health Minister responded to a question raised by a doctor/student about the upcoming NExT exam and replied, “Students need not stress. I am not inducting the 2019 batch under the NExT criteria. I will bring the 2020 batch into the NExT realm. So there will be no NExT this year.”
“Furthermore, the final exam will not be replaced by NExT but the NEET PG exam will be replaced by NExT and this will be linked to the medical record. So doctors will get their degree but to practice they will have to clear NExT. Both The Government and the NMC will not take any decision that will cause confusion among the students,” the minister added.
Despite the Health Minister’s announcement, there was no official announcement from the National Medical Commission (NMC) and students were seeking clarity on the exam.
Also read: Confusion prevails over the conduct of the national exit test: NEXT Exam Medicos Continue the protest
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The NMC NExT Regulations, 2023 were published in the Official Gazette on June 28, 2023. “These Regulations shall come into force immediately from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette,” the apex medical commission mentioned .
However, opposing the decision to conduct the NExT exam for the 2019 batch, students and doctors called it a violation of the NMC Act, 2019. Students had been protesting across the country against the implementation of exam for 2019 batch.
According to Article 49 of the National Medical Commission Act of 2019, “(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, any student who was studying for a degree, diploma or certificate in any medical institution immediately before the commencement of this Act shall continue to study and complete his course for such degree, diploma or certificate, and such institution shall continue to provide instruction and examinations for such student in accordance with the curriculum and studies existing before such commencement, and such student shall be deemed to have completed his course of study under this Act and shall be awarded a degree, diploma or certificate under this Act.”
Referring to this, the doctors pointed out that the MBBS batch 2019 started on August 1, 2019, meaning the batch started before the promulgation of the NMC Act, 2019. The doctors argued that conducting NExT for the 2019 batch would be a violation of the NMC Act 2019. .
Following the Health Minister’s announcement that there will be no NExT exam for the 2019 MBBS batch, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) has written to the Health Minister. Seeking an official statement in this regard, FORDA said, “… we very much appreciate the recent social media video in which Minister Honnurahle mentioned the exclusion of the 2019 batch of medical students from NExT Although this announcement brings some relief, we emphasize the importance of issuing an official written statement on behalf of the NMC. A written communication from the NMC would provide the necessary clarity and certainty to affected students, allowing them to plan their academic and career paths with confidence.”
Last Monday, seeking clarity on the implementation of the NExT exam for the MBBS 2019 batch, a social and political activist filed a Right to Information (RTI) application.
Referring to the announcement made by the Minister of Health about the NExT exam, the activist Dr. Vivek Pandey filed an RTI application and sought clarity and official information in this context.
“Please provide the official information on the above mentioned statement of the health minister that the MBBS 2019 batch will not give the next examination,” he said in the RTI application.
Earlier, Dr Pandey also expressed his complaint to the Union Health Ministry regarding the matter and sought a one-time relaxation for the MBBS 2019 batch for the upcoming NExT examination.
Earlier, opposing the implementation of the NExT exam, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) stated that the NExT exam cannot be conducted until NMC ensures that there is a uniform standard of education medical at the country’s medical institutes.
The association also appealed to the central government and asked for its intervention. It has also sought directions to the NMC to reconsider the NExT proposal.
With the NMC notice, the NExT exam has now been postponed until further orders from the Ministry of Health. However, there is still no clarity about the future of the NExT exam, which was announced in 2019.
To view NMC’s notice to NExT, click on the link below:
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-public-notice-on-next-214162.pdf
Also Read: Breaking News: No NExT Exam for MBBS Batch 2019, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Confirms
