National Exit Test to become operational within three years

Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that NEXT, a common final year undergraduate medical examination, will be held to grant a license to practice medicine as a medical practitioner and for enrolment in National and State register.

The National Exit Test or NEXT will become operational within three years, the health ministry informed the Parliament. Notifying the Parliament regarding the National Exit Test (NEXT) the health ministry stated that the NEXT will be operational on such date, within three years from the date of commencement of the National Medical Commission Act 2019 (NMC), as may be appointed by the Central Government, by notification.

Referring to section 15 of the National Medical Commission act, the provision that is responsible for the functioning of the National Exit Test, the minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that NEXT, a common final year undergraduate medical examination, will be held to grant license to practice medicine and for enrolment in National and State register. The commission will conduct NEXT as specified by regulations. Candidates with the foreign medical qualification will have to qualify NEXT in order to obtain licenses to practice medicine as a medical practitioner and for enrolment in National and State register.

Quoting the rules from NMC that were passed in August last year, the minister said that the NEXT will also act as the basis for taking admission to the postgraduate board. He also added that during the presentation to the departmental related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family welfare, the Tamil Nadu government raised some objections to the National Licentiate Examination.

Talking further he also added that the Standing Committee’s recommendation in its 109^th Report on NMC bill 2017 that medical graduates must give an EXIT test.

According to the reports, the process of setting up the Commission NMC in place of the Medical Council of India for regulation and development of medical education, profession, and institutions in all aspects will soon be over in February 2020.

The NMC Act received the assent from the president on August 8 and was published the same day. The Act talks about the setting up of NMC in place of the Medical Council of India.

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