What is National Exit Test for medical students likely to be introduced in 2023

The test will also be a criteria for merit-based allocation of postgraduate seats in broad specialities

New Delhi, Jun 17: The government is likely to introduce NExT( National Exit Test) for the final year undergraduate medical students starting next year, reports have said.

This would sever not only as a common qualifying final year MBBS exam, but also as a licentiate exam that those taking will need to take before they practice modern medicine, a report in the Hindustan Times said.

The test will also be a criteria for merit-based allocation of postgraduate seats in broad specialities. It would also be a bridging exam for foreign medical graduates wanting to practice in the country.

The report also said that NExT will begin with the batch of students that is going to graduate in 2023. If it is introduced in the education system then it would do away with the need to conduct NEET-PG. It would be a common test for multiple purposes that is meant to be implemented across the board, the HT report also said while citing an official.

While the national board of exams in medical sciences is likely to conduct the exam, there is also a chance of outsourcing the process to a third party, the report added. Before its implementation a mock test is being planned. This would remove any anxiety among the students and would also test the procedure.

The NExT will also be applicable to institutes of national importance such as the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences. This would have a common standard of medical education sector in the country.

To make NeXT a world class exam, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting in July last year.

In a statement released after the meeting, Mandaviya had said, "the importance of the NExt Exam lies in the fact that it will be the same for everyone whether trained in India or any part of the world and hence it will solve the problem of foreign medical graduates (FMGs) / Mutual recognition... the Government of India is committed to creating quality medical education and transparent examination infrastructure and health services and is relentlessly working with all stakeholders to achieve this objective."