THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kerala Chapter, has expressed its protest against the state government’s support to the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, introduced by the Union Health Ministry that makes it mandatory for medical students to clear the National Exit Test (NEXT) to become doctors.
As part of the protest, the IMA would observe protest on Wednesday across the state, IMA state president Dr V G Pradeep Kumar and secretary Dr Samuel Koshy said. As part of the protest, medical students would hold demonstrations at all medical colleges, they said.
They said the doctors and medical students in the state would strengthen the agitation if the government goes ahead with implementing NEXT.
The IMA demanded the government not to take unilateral decisions regarding healthcare but to take proper decisions in consultation with those working in medical education and health sector.
The introduction of NEXT was improper as there was a continuous evaluation process for medical students all through the five-and-a-half years of their MBBS programme, Kumar and Koshy said.
They said the government should first hold talks for improving the quality of health care, improving the infrastructure, increasing the number of qualified teachers and ensure research facilities. They also said that the government was just running away from the actual facts by introducing NEXT.