NEW DELHI: Seeking to usher in mega reforms in the health sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal to set a National Medical Commission which will replace the Medical Council of India.
The Cabinet also approved the common entry and exit examinations to standardise medical education, which was originally suggested by the NITI Aayog.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that once Parliament clears the National Medical Commission Bill, it would unveil common exit examinations called National Exit Test, or NEXT, for MBBS students.
“NEXT on the lines of NEET will be the common examination on basis of which licences would be given to medical practitioners, besides admissions in postgraduate courses. Medical students passing from foreign varsities, too, would need to take EXIT to get licences to practise,” Javadekar said.
TNIE had reported on July 15 that the government was planning to make admission to PG programmes on the basis of their NEXT score. Javadekar said the legislation would cap 50% of the seats in private medical colleges for fee regulation by the proposed Commission.
It will also be applicable to deemed varsities.
The bill further proposes constituting ‘The Medical Assessment and Ranking Board’, which would inspect and assess medical colleges.
What NEXT
NEXT is the common final year MBBS exam. It will serve as licentiate exam, as screening test for foreign medical graduates and for admission to PG medical courses