New Delhi, Oct 4 : The Union Health Ministry established a seven-member committee tasked with evaluating the readiness of states and medical colleges for the implementation of the National Exit Test (NExT) for final year MBBS students from the 2020 batch. This development comes after the National Medical Commission (NMC) deferred the NExT for final year MBBS students from the 2019 batch on July 13th.
In an official order issued on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under the approval of Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, announced the formation of the committee. The committee’s primary objectives include assessing the implementation and readiness for NExT, as well as examining proposed changes under NExT compared to the existing system.
The committee will explore the application of NExT as a final year examination, postgraduate entrance test, and licentiate examination. Additionally, it will evaluate the preparedness of states, universities, and medical colleges to adopt the proposed system for the 2020 batch and beyond. The committee is expected to propose measures for preparations and outline a roadmap for the operationalization of NExT, specifically for the batch starting in 2020.
The committee has a timeline of two weeks from its formation to submit its recommendations. The NMC had previously outlined the structure of the National Exit Test (NEXT) in its regulations for 2023, indicating that it would consist of two phases, with NExT Step 1 and NExT Step 2 exams being conducted twice within a year. The NExT is intended to serve as the basis for certifying the eligibility of medical graduates to practice modern medicine in India and to function as a licentiate examination. It will also play a role in determining eligibility and ranking for admission to postgraduate medical education in various medical specialties in the country.
