According to the draft ‘National Education Policy’, the K Kasturirangan Committee has proposed the common exit test or National Exit Test (NEXT) for medical students studying MBBS in India or MBBS in Russia at Top Medical Universities, in place of FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination) to practice their medical career in India.
With the approval for NEXT, students will be able to appear for the MBBS exit exam in their fourth year of study and at the same time, for the post-graduation entrance examination also, as stipulated by the panel. This can also be conducted for dental education and other disciplines (as per the requirement).
Following reforms are proposed in the draft policy:
- “This centralized examination will be administered at the end of the fourth year of MBBS, so that the students are released from the burden of studying for a separate competitive entrance examinations at the end of their residency period” panel members added.
- The policy also suggests- lateral entry (second year) of Nursing, Dental and other medical disciplines in MBBS course, calling for increasing the MBBS seats through enhancement of at least 600 district hospitals into teaching hospitals at the earliest.
- The drafting committed has emphasized on mainstreaming of the Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) conceptualizing the “Pluralistic Health Care System”
The panel has focused on every shortcoming in the number of seats in postgraduate courses in many disciplines, especially in medical education. It also suggested that new medical colleges & hospitals having an adequate number of patients and highly-qualified teaching faculty should be permitted to start postgraduate courses.
NEXT proposal by the committee will relieve the stress of many domestic or international students studying MBBS in India or MBBS in Russia.
