The All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) will hold a protest demonstration in front of the National Medical Commission (NMC) office in New Delhi against the ‘imposition’ of the new National Exit Test (NExT).

On Friday, July 7, the student group will also submit a memorandum to the NMC highlighting the concerns of final-year MBBS students who will be appearing for the NExT exam next year. This will mark the last day of AIDSO’s All India Protest Week which started on July 1 against the introduction of NExT.

Already, there have been several protests across medical colleges in India ever since the NMC announced on Tuesday, June 27, that the exam will be conducted for final-year MBBS students of 2019 batch.

Students’ concerns

Medical students, especially those from the 2019 batch, have highlighted that the exam has been announced at very short notice with only 10 months till May 2024 when the first NExT exam is expected to be scheduled.

Not only this, but the students are also confused about when the exam will be conducted as no clarity has been given by the NMC so far. The commission has only announced that exams will be conducted twice a year in May and November.

The students said that many questions have been left unaddressed by the NMC about this proposed examination.

AIDSO, on the other hand, has also shown concern that the introduction of the NExT examination will lead to the commercialisation of medical education and a rise in coaching culture.