NExT for final year MBBS students put off

IN A move that will bring relief to thousands of anxious medical students, the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Thursday deferred the National Exit Test (NExT) exam till further notice.

- KAVITA BAJELI-DUTT

NExT will replace the National Eligibility Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG) for admission to postgraduate medical programmes and license to practice medicine in the country. “All the stakeholders are hereby informed that the National Exit Test examination is deferred till further directions from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,” the NMC said in a brief public notice. However, it is unclear if the mock NExT, scheduled for July 28, will still be held.

The announcement comes after protests from several medical colleges, and medical and student bodies including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which demanded that the new examination be repealed immediately.