Hamirpur medical college students end week-long silent protest against National Exist Test

HAMIRPUR (HP): Final-year medical students of Dr Radha Krishnana Medical College here ended their week-long silent protest against the NExT on Friday after Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the 2019 MBBS batch will not be covered under it.

The students welcomed the minister's remarks. Mandaviya had yesterday said that the National Exit Test (NExT) will be applicable for the 2020 MBBS batch onwards. However, the students said the test should not be held for any batch and added that they would move the court against it.

Also Read | National Exit Test to be applicable from 2020 MBBS batch: Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya

Students also interacted with mediapersons outside the college campus on this morning. A spokesperson of the agitating students demanded that the students be given degrees along with licence and registration to do practice. They said “injustice” with students would not be tolerated and that they will put up a legal fight against it.

As per the National Medical Commission Act, the NExT will serve as a common qualifying final-year MBBS exam, a licentiate exam to practice modern medicine and for merit-based admission to postgraduate courses, and a screening exam for foreign medical graduates who want to practice in India. The National Medical Commission had earlier announced that the test for the 2019 batch of final-year MBBS students will be held next year in two phases -- NExT Step 1 and NExT Step 2. These are tentatively scheduled to be held in May and November.

The students had opposed the move and said that competing for a national-level examination that too “at such a short notice” while maintaining college attendance and taking classes “is unjust”. Six months is insufficient time to prepare for any entrance exam of PG level that covers 19 subjects that too maintaining 75 per cent attendance, making logbooks, presenting seminars and attending the clinics, the students had said.

The students had stated that the notification regarding the test was “a gross violation” of Section 49 of the NMC Act, 2019. They added that during their admission to the course in 2019, no NExT was mentioned anywhere in the curriculum.