Govt. Invokes NMC Act: NExT Exam Time Limit Extended Till Sep 2024

The Government of India has invoked section 59 of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act. Hence, the deadline to conduct the National Exit Test (NExT) exam for the final year of MBBS students has been extended till September 2024. The NExT will become a common qualifying final year MBBS exam. It will serve as a licentiate exam to practise modern medicine, for merit-based admission to PG Medical courses, and a screening exam for foreign medical graduates who want to practise in India.

Although there has been no official notification regarding the postponement of the exam so far, the NExT 2023 exam will not be conducted in 2023. As per the NMC act, the commission must conduct the first NExT exam within 3 years of the Act, which is in September 2023. The NExT exam is supposed to replace the NEET PG Exam, which is conducted in April or May every year, so the NExT exam will take place around the same time. 

Also Read: MCC Withdraws NEET PG Counselling 2022 Provisional List: Choice Filling Process Deadline Revised

The Union ministries Gazette notification regarding the matter stated that the framing of the regulations for conducting the exam is yet to happen, and the formation of the examination cell is underway. The government has now invoked section 59 of the NMC so that the difficulties can be removed. The notice, which may be called the National Medical Commission's first (Removal of Difficulties) order, 2022, will come to effect on the day it was published in the gazette. Hence, the words 'three years' in sub-section (3) of section 15 of the Act shall be substituted for the 'four years'.

Officials said that the particulars of conducting the exam are yet to be worked out. The commission is yet to set the modalities and decide on the exam's syllabus, type and pattern. It is also to decide whether the exam will be an analytical or a multiple choice questions based test. Also, the number of tests and requisite regulations etc., are to be ascertained. Furthermore, students need to be given enough time to prepare for the new exam, and mock tests will have to be conducted. The commission also is yet to decide which agency will conduct the exam. The purpose of the NExT exam is to solve the problem of foreign medical graduates (FMGs). The exam will be standardised for MBBS students, whether trained in India or abroad.

Follow GetMyUni for more such content on the Latest Education News.