National Medical Commission (NMC) is most likely going to review the final guidelines for the National Exit Test (NeXT) this month. As per sources, the guidelines for the exam have been finalised and will be placed in front of the apex medical education regulator soon. The NeXT exam was initially planned to replace the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test- NEET PG and the FMGE exams. The exam was scheduled to begin three years after NMO was formed via the NMC Act, 2019, which was made effective from the year 2020. However, the government had decided to push back its implementation till September 2024.
As per sources from the Ministry of Health, the guidelines for the NeXT exam are in the final stage and will be presented to NMC later in the month. Along with the guidelines, tentative exam dates are also expected to be announced for the exam.
NEET PG 2023 was conducted on March 5, and the registrations for FMGE 2023 June Session are already underway. Hence, if the NeXT exam is implemented, the exam is likely to be conducted in 2024. However, a final call regarding the NEET PG Exam is expected to be taken once the regulations are finalised.
Initial reports had stated that the NeXT Exam would be conducted by NBE, after the body is merged with the National Medical Commission. However, the latest updates suggest that NBE may not be equipped to conduct the NeXT exam on the scale needed. As per sources, AIMS New Delhi is now a likely candidate for conducting the NeXT Exam.
The National Exit Test, once implemented, will act as a qualifying and screening exam for final year MBBS Students. NExT, which would work as a licentiate test, is mentioned in the draft rule as the foundation for validating a medical graduate’s eligibility to register to practise the contemporary system of medicine in India. NExT will also act as an entrance exam for admission by determining the eligibility and ranking for individuals who choose to seek further PG medical education in the nation in a variety of medical specialities.
The NEET PG exam would be replaced as the scores from the NeXT Exam will be used for MD Admissions. The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, FMGE Test will be replaced as NeXT would act as the screening test for practicing medicine in India.
As per the regulations, which were released in the public domain in December 2022, the NeXT exam will be conducted in two parts – NeXT part 1 will focus on theory exams and NeXT part 2 exam will focus on the practical, oral and clinical tests for the seven clinical subjects and disciplines. Once implemented, the NeXT Exam will serve as a common qualifying examination for final year MBBS students, a licentiate exam, and also as an MBBS exit exam.
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