The State unit of the Indian Medical Association has opposed the Centre’s proposal to introduce a licensing or qualifying exam, the National Exit Test (NEXT), for MBBS graduates to qualify themselves as doctors and to secure registration for clinical practice.
The proposal has been mooted by the Union Health Ministry as part of the draft Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Act, 2016, in order to create a level-playing field in medical education.
The proposed NEXT could be a benchmark for students and will substitute the NEET for postgraduate medical admissions, recruitment for Central Health Services and the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).
In a statement here on Tuesday, the IMA said that it was unfair that medical students who came through a national qualifying NEET test and had then completed the MBBS course as per the curriculum fixed by the Medical Council of India were being asked to go through another qualifying exam to earn their professional licence.
By showcasing NEXT as the answer to ensuring quality of medical graduates, the Centre was turning its face away from the harsh realities in the medical education sector, including inadequate infrastructure in medical colleges, lack of academic facilities and shortage of faculty, the IMA said.
It said that a strong agitation against the Centre’s proposal would be organised by bringing together the entire medical fraternity as well as students.
The IMA has asked the medical fraternity and students to register their protest against the draft IMC Amendment Bill through the website http://goo.gl/OHG5rw before January 6.
On January 11, a mass petition signed by all medical students in Kerala will be submitted to the Centre, the IMA said.