NExT Exam Protest Intensifies; Medicos Demand to Cancel it

The medicos across the country are protesting against the upcoming NExT exam. The protest started on July 1, 2023, by the students of various government medical colleges and it continues to grow stronger. Know the latest updates.

While the anti-National Exit Test protest is going on at the all-India level, the students of AIIMS Raipur submitted a memorandum to union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya requesting him to not conduct the NExT exam for the 2019 batch, and as per the report, the minister has replied that it will not be conducted for 2019 batch but instead will be conducted for the 2020 batch. 

The students in the memorandum said that they are not prepared for this exam yet and are not aware of the pattern of the new exam. They requested that the interest of the MBBS 2019 batch should be kept in mind and NExT should not be taken for them. The National Medical Commission has already announced conducting the NExT mock test on July 28, 2023. 

Medical Service Centre, a national-level, socio-medical voluntary organisation also opposed the decision of the National Medical Commission to implement NExT 1 in the midsession, as it puts an undue burden on the students, with little time to prepare. Questions have been also raised on NMC asking for exorbitant exam fees for the mock test.

"The result will be an increased number of dropouts, increased incidents of suicide among medical students, deteriorating quality of medical education and medical graduates with scarce clinical knowledge, medical colleges with inadequate infrastructure and cut-throat coaching businesses," said the official statement of Medical Service Centre.

Victory of students' movement, says AIDSO

After Mansukh Mandaviya said that the NExT exam will be implemented for 2020 batch instead of 2019 batch, the AIDSO All India Committee termed it as the victory of the students' movement. However, it also said that it is only one achievement of the ongoing struggle.

"We demand the NExT must be scrapped fully as this exam is not only unscientific and will lower the standard of doctors, and will help to hand over medical education to the coaching industry," said AIDSO.

Read more:

• NExT exam protest: Doctors, students oppose exam under #NONEXTFOR19BATCH
• NExT Exam: Medicos protest in Hamirpur against exam on short notice