The National Exit Exam (NExT), originally proposed to replace the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG) and the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), remains under review, as confirmed by the Union Health Ministry in response to an RTI, according to a report from Careers360.
Activist Vivek Pandey, who has been actively seeking clarity on medical education and exams through RTIs, shared a recent response from the Union Health Ministry stating that the NExT exam is still under consideration.
In October 2022, a seven-member committee, approved by then Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, was formed to assess the preparedness of states and medical colleges for the implementation of NExT for final-year MBBS students of the 2020 batch.
However, the National Medical Commission (NMC) postponed the NExT exam for the 2019 MBBS batch, as noted in Careers360’s exclusive report on July 13.
NExT is a licensing exam for medical practitioners and a merit-based entry point for postgraduate medical courses. The NMC, which replaced the Medical Council of India in 2019, issued the NExT regulations in 2023, announcing that the exam will be conducted in two phases each year: NExT Step 1 and NExT Step 2.
According to the regulations, the NExT 2024 exam was initially planned for the 2019 MBBS batch, with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi assigned as the conducting body, aiming to hold NExT Step 1 in May and Step 2 in November.
Details about the exam pattern for the computer-based test (CBT) and a tentative schedule were also outlined in the notification.
