NExT exam deferred till further notice: Health Ministry

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has deferred the National Exit Test (NExT) examination until further notice from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The exam was meant to be implemented for the 2019 MBBS batch but has faced opposition from students and doctors. NExT is a postgraduate medical exam that will replace NEET PG.

Mumbai: The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Thursday issued a public notice that the National Exit Test (NExT) examination has been deferred till further notice from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The public notice stated, “All the stakeholders are hereby informed that the National Exit Test (NExT) examination is deferred on the advice of the Ministry, dated 11.07.2023 till further direction from the MoHFW.” The NMC notice was shared by Dr. Yogender Malik, a member of the NMC Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB).

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As previously announced, the exam was to be implemented for the 2019 MBBS batch. The NMC NExT regulations, 2023, were published in the official Gazette on June 28. “These regulations shall come into force at once from the date of their publication in the official Gazette,” mentioned the NMC. However, opposing the decision to conduct NExT exam for the 2019 batch, students and doctors protested saying that this is a violation of NMC Act, 2019. NExT is a postgraduate medical exam designed to serve as a qualifying exam for final-year MBBS students and is going to replace NEET PG.

“2019 batch MBBS students will not come under the NExT exam, and it will be applicable from the 2020 MBBS batch,” the union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said while interacting with students at AIIMS Raipur, early this month.