NITI Aayog plans National Exit Exam for MBBS, Seeks Comments

A National-level exit exam may soon be in place for passing MBBS in India. NITI Aayog has proposed a National Entry and Exit exam in its Draft National Medical Commission Bill, 2016. This has come as a move to regulate the medical education in the country. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) are asking suggestions from general public before they implement the MBBS exit exam (NEXT) and 50% quota in PG courses. In addition, it has also proposed structural changes such as the formulation of the National Medical Commission as the apex body towards monitoring of medical education in the country. This proposal came in response to A Preliminary Report of the Committee on the Reform of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 which clearly specifies: Also Read: Everything we know about NEET PG 2017 till now ‘The Committee holds the view that there is a need to conduct common entrance examinations for admission to UG and PG courses in medical institutions to facilitate transparency in the admission process and to ensure that admissions are conducted on a merit basis rather than the ability to pay capitation fee. There is also a need to provide statutory status to a Common Licentiate Examination after completion of the MBBS degree. The Government may also prescribe skill tests as a part of the Licentiate Examination to ensure that the medical professionals possess the right attitudes, skills and knowledge to provide health care as per the societal needs’.

The Committee has proposed the following main suggestions in consideration of the above view:

1. An All India National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) must be in place for intake of students in Medical Institutions on merit basis.
2. The Commission/Board(s) must be assigned the responsibility to conduct a Common Licentiate Examination after the completion of the MBBS degree. Qualifying the Common Licentiate Examination will be a mandatory requirement for obtaining the license to practice and for registration with the Indian Medical council. This examination(NEET PG) will also be considered for admission to Post-Graduate courses in the medical institutions across the country.
3. The Common Licentiate Exam shall come into place from a date decided by the Central Government but not later than 3 years from the date this Act is put into effect.
4. The exam would ensure standardization of skills and knowledge for Doctors on a Nation-wide basis and would also serve as an objective benchmark to evaluate the results of the medical education process in any institution.
5. The Committee also emphasized on inserting an additional provision for renewal of license exam to be conducted once in every ten years, however, concluded that this is desirable in the long run but this is not the appropriate time for such a massive step.

Also read: Centre plans exit exam for MBBS Students The suggested changes will ensure a smooth transition from the old to a new system and it would be unwise to frontload this change. PrepLadder verdict: The proposal of an exit exam is favourable for the medical services of the country as a whole. However, it gives a lot of power to one exam which will decide the fate of Indian medical students. Also, the candidates who do not clear the exit exam in first attempt will have to wait another year, wherein they can’t find employment because they will not be registered under MCI.

When can this exam be a possibility?

If you’re completing internship this year, you don’t need to worry about taking the exit exam. The earliest this rule could be applied is in NEET PG December 2016.