While the new Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) 2024 guidelines have stirred speculations that the proposed National Exit Test (NExT) exam might be introduced for MBBS academic year 2024-25, to be conducted in March 2029 — there is yet to be any official confirmation regarding the same.
The medical community has been eagerly waiting for any update regarding the implementation of the NExT exam, which was expected to replace the existing National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) exam.
As per the new guidelines, the NExT exam will be administered in two stages: during the 54th week of the MBBS course and the 12th month of the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI).
After the National Medical Commission released the new CBME guidelines 2024 last week, on August 31, several media reports speculated that the proposed exam will be conducted in March 2029, as the new guidelines are to be implemented from the academic year 2024-25.
However, when EdexLive reached out to the NMC for confirmation on this, the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) President Dr Aruna V Vanikar said that there is no official update regarding the implementation of the exam so far.
It might be recalled that last year, NMC released the NExT regulations and announced conducting the exam for the 2019 MBBS batch; it was ultimately put on hold for an indefinite time.
