In the Rajya Sabha’s Monsoon Session held on August 8, 2023, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya addressed the members on the introduction of the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, to regulate the profession of dentistry in the country and equate its importance to that of other medical sciences. The minister also initiated a discussion on the National Nursing and Midwifery Bill Commission, 2023. 

Mandaviya also spoke on the conundrum of the National Exit Test (NExT) exam, which was recently introduced and then deferred by the National Medical Commission (NMC) as a licentiate exam that further authorises candidates as medical practitioners. The anticipation has remained quite high amongst the students as the queries regarding the sudden initiation, had turned quite chaotic. 

Mandaviya, during the session, had said that the ministry is proposing the NExT exam not only for the MBBS graduates but also for the students pursuing Dental Sciences and Nursing as well. He further added that the implementation of the NExT exam has been accomplished with the Department of Legal Affairs, rendering the information that this already has been affiliated and recognised. 

On the purpose of the exam, he spoke on a similar line of it being a licentiate examination. “Students pursuing LLB course, to become an advocate or to procure the licence to practise have to qualify for an exam. Similarly, NExT would also grant them the licence to practise in their field, be it Nursing or MBBS, further validating their degree.” 

The minister in his message reassured the students that one should not be distressed and assume NExT is going to be a tougher examination that one could not possibly qualify. The provision of an average assessment is only being made through this exam. 

“The exam will not be introduced this year. Preparations are being made to introduce it next year but we will take this up later,” he spoke on the possibility of the examination being held next year. The purpose of the examination, he added, would bring all the health services under one rubric, further making the evaluation easier and hence, supply the nation with the best services offered by qualified doctors, nurses and other health professionals. 

Growing medical infrastructure
Apart from providing information on the NExT exam, the minister also laid emphasis on the efforts made to improvise the existing medical infrastructure. On the necessity of doctors in a country like India which is seeing a population boom, he said that the country previously offered only 51,000 medical seats in 2014 but now, it has more than one lakh medical seats with the numbers growing to accommodate more students. The number of colleges has also increased to 704 from a mere 350, he reckoned. 

Not only this, the year 2023 saw 54 new medical colleges being sanctioned by the ministry which included both private and government medical colleges. Mandaviya also emphasised the transparency maintained while taking decisions and how stricter rules were in action on granting licences to colleges, if they were found to be lacking the infrastructure. 

Heal by India
The health minister, while delivering his speech, spoke about the importance of allied health services and the importance of its growth within a country shedding light on the Nursing faculties in India, that are not only booming but are also in demand in other countries as well. He said that most of the health workforce in Gulf countries are Indians and also in America, 8 per cent of the nurses are found to be Indian citizens. 

Referring to the prosperity seen in Kerala, Mandaviya noted, “There are many industries in Kerala but people living there are flourishing and have a great purchasing capacity as most of the medical workforce from Kerala are based in other countries and sending the money earned back to the country in Dirhams and Dollars.” He greatly lauded India’s labour pool that is extending world-class services, thereby, putting India’s medical education at a higher pedestal and in competition with other countries. 

On increasing the employability of Indian nurses, he further added that several languages are also being introduced in Nursing colleges and encouraged further by the growing demand for Indian nurse staff in foreign countries. “Japan has requested India for medical staff, especially from the North-eastern part of India but they must be capable of speaking in Japanese.” Hence, the minister said, Japan has been introduced as a part of the curriculum in three nursing colleges in Assam.