NEXT EXAM 2023: Notification (Soon), Exam Date, Syllabus

Rajalakshmi BK

Updated on - Dec 29, 2023

NExT 2023 exam will be conducted in Aug 2025. National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced in a public notice that MBBS students joining medical college this year will appear for NExt exam in Feb 2028.

As per the National Medical Commission Bill passed in 2019 passed by the Government of India, all MBBS graduates will have to appear for an NExT exam. The exam would be held at the National Level, and hence, be called the National Exit Test. With the NExT exam, the government of India aims to standardize education in the Medical Domain.

Table of Contents:

• NExT 2023 Exam Dates
• About NExT
• NExT 2023 Notification
• NExT Highlights
• NExT Objectives

NExT 2023 Exam Date

NExT exam 2023 will be conducted in Aug 2025. Candidates can find the detailed schedule for NExT 2025 in the tabular below. 

About NExT exam

NExT Exit Exam has been proposed to be conducted as a uniform National Exit Test. The proposal will see NExT replacing the uniform entrance examination at Post Graduate Level for MBBS graduates. To put it in a simple way, the National Exit Test [NExT] may replace the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test [NEET PG]. According to a new proposed amendment, in addition to NExT, Exit Examination for MBBS level, combined counselling for admission in UG and PG levels and reservation of up to 50% of the seats of PG courses for Medical Officers will be introduced. 

NExT, if it is held will substitute three exams. These include

• NEET-PG which is currently conducted for postgraduate admissions
• Recruitment exam for Central Health Services
• Foreign Graduate Medical Examination (FMGE). Government officials have presented another key point in favour of NExT stating that it will act as an indicator for colleges. In other words, if a large number of students from a particular college clear NExT then it will mean that the concerned college has good educational standards.

NExT will be applied to institutes of national importance such as the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in order to establish a common standard for the country's medical education sector.

NExT is not universally embraced.
Dr RV Asokan, former secretary general of the Indian Medical Association, remarked, "How can one single exam decide all three?"

"The assessment process must be different for PG entry since you must look for the best among medical professionals to send for higher specialisations rather than assessing those who want to practise medicine." "You can't use the same benchmark," he noted, "which is why we voiced concerns about the way NExT has been envisioned."

NExT 2023 Notification

NExT 2024 mock test scheduled on Jul 28, 2023 was cancelled by NMC. In addition, the NExT exam 2023 will be held in Aug 2025. 

The National Exit Test (NExT) for final-year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students is slated to begin soon. The online exam is expected to take the place of the National Eligibility Cumulation Entrance Test (NEET) PG as an entrance exam for PG medical degree programmes.

It will be required to obtain a practising licence in India, in addition to being a common qualifying final year MBBS test. It will serve as a bridge exam for foreign medical graduates wishing to practise in the country, as well as a criterion for merit-based postgraduate seat distribution in a variety of specialities.

"It's very likely that the exit test will begin with the 2023 graduating class. According to Hindustan Times, a senior federal government official said, "The modalities are being worked out."

"If NExT is implemented in the educational system, it will eliminate the necessity for the NEET-PG examination" (national eligibility-cum-entrance examination). This person said, "It will be a common test for numerous purposes that is supposed to be implemented across the board."

According to reports, a practice test will be conducted before the final exam is administered. The National Board of Examinations will most likely conduct the exam, but it is possible that the procedure could be outsourced to a third party.

NExT Highlights

NExT exam will be conducted in two parts. Some important highlights related to the exam, known so far are:

• The NExT-1 has to be attempted by a candidate between 15 to 30 days, after appearing for their respective university's final exam.
• Qualifying candidates will proceed to intern for the NExT 10 months. 
• The candidates who fail the exam will have to repeat the NExT academic year and retake NExT-1 after that. 
• The syllabus for NExT-1 shall contain topics from all 5 years of MBBS.

• Candidates will attempt NExT-2 after completing their internship.
• The questions asked in NExT-2 will be based on the student's experience at the internship. 

Government's take on the introduction of NExT Exam

In the draft National Medical Commission Bill considered by NITI Aayog, an Exit Exam has been provided for at the undergraduate level. It is expected to help as a method for quality certification of graduating doctors. No separate exam for a foreign graduate is provided in the draft bill. The exit exam would be an outcome-based quality control mechanism instead of focusing on the verification of infrastructure.

Role of the public

In released suggestions in the amendment, the Government has invited comments: General Public is hereby requested to send suggestions/feedback in respect of the draft Bill. Suggestions may be furnished to - mepsection-mohfw@gov.in

Objectives of NExT

NExT exam shall replace the NEET PG exam. This exam will be held to validate MBBS graduates as qualified doctors, once they are done with their course. It will not be just an entrance exam acting as a gateway for MBBS students to attain admission to postgraduate courses. It will also act as a licentiate and screening test. Some more objectives of the NExT exam are given below:

• NExT exam aims to bring forward a more skilled and qualified lot of medical practitioners in the country. 
• The exam will also cater to graduates who pursued MBBS from colleges based outside the country. Such students were earlier made to appear for FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Exam). Thus, it is anticipated that NExT will replace FMGE too. 

MBBS graduates who clear the exam will have to serve in a rural or tribal area for a minimum of 3 years. The candidates who are planning to pursue an MD/MS or any PG medical course will be asked to work for another 3 years in rural/tribal areas, in their chosen specialisation.