NExT To Replace NEET PG From 2023: Details Here
The Indian government is likely to introduce the National Exit Tests (NeXT) for MBBS students’ final year from 2023.
Such an indication has been given by a senior central government official, who informed to Hindustan Times that the exit exam is going to for the MBBS students who will graduate in 2023. If that happens, then NEXT is going to replace NEET-PG that was the medium of entrance for getting admission in PG medical courses.
This will serve not only as a common qualifying final year MBBS exam, but also as a licentiate exam that those taking it will need to clear before they can practice modern medicine in the country.
It will also be criteria for merit-based allocation of postgraduate seats in broad specialties and a bridging exam for foreign medical graduates wanting to practice in the country.
“The exit exam is most likely going to start from the batch of students that is going to graduate in 2023. The modalities are being worked out,” said a senior central government official aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
“If NExT is introduced in the education system then it will do away with the need to conduct NEET-PG (national eligibility-cum-entrance examination).
It will be a common test for multiple purposes that is meant to be implemented across the board,” this person added.
The NeXT will also serve as the criteria for merit-based allocation of postgraduate seats in broad specialties. Further this exam will bridge the gap between students from foreign medical institutions willing to practice medicine in India.
According to the reports, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences is likely to conduct the test from 2023.
However, there is a possibility of outsourcing the process to a third party, the people familiar with the matter added.
There is also a mock test planned before implementing the final exam, to test the procedure and remove anxiety among medical students, according to the person citied above.
To make NeXT a world class exam, Union Health Minister Mansukh held a review meeting in July last year.
In a statement released after the meeting, Mansukh 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 / 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.”