National Exit Test (NEXT) for registration to practice medicine and admission to PG medical courses
Section 14 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 provides for holding of a common and uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to the undergraduate medical courses in all medical institutions including those governed under any other law.
Thus, the admission to MBBS course in Institutes being governed under separate Acts of Parliament including AIIMS will be made through NEET from the academic year 2020-21 onwards. This will ensure a common standard of medical education in the country and the students will not have to appear in multiple exams.
Section 15 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 provides for holding of a Common Final Year MBBS to be known as National Exit Test (NEXT) for registration to practice medicine and admission to PG medical courses. Further, any person with a foreign medical qualification shall have to qualify NEXT for the purpose of obtaining licence to practice medicine as medical practitioner.
Section 32 of the NMC Act, 2019 prescribes that the Commission may grant limited licence to practice medicine at mid-level as Community Health Provider to such person connected with modern scientific medical profession in accordance with the qualifying criteria to be specified by the Commission in the regulations.
Further, the Community Health Providers may prescribe specified medicine independently, only in primary and preventive healthcare, but in cases other than primary and preventive healthcare, they may prescribe medicine only under the supervision of registered medical practitioners.
No such proposal is pending with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
The above information is given by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri Ashwin Kumar Choubey in Parliament on 29th November 2019.