Admission to MBBS courses in all the medical colleges, including all the AIIMS and JIPMER will be carried out through the standard national entrance test, i.e. NEET. Union Minister, Harsh Vardhan announced this on Oct 4, 2019
This change took place after the implementation of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. According to the HRD ministry, it was approved in August 2019. Section 14 of this act conveys that there will be a common and uniform NEET examination for admission into medical programs in all the institutes.
This bill has unified not only the entrance procedures for undergraduate medical courses but also post-graduate medical courses through NEXT. Common counselling will be conducted, thereby decreasing the hassle of attending different counselling for different institutes. This proposal has its pros and cons to medical aspirants.
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)
NEET 2020 will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 3, 2019. Online applications will commence from Dec 2, 2019. NEET is now the only single and most substantial undergraduate medical entrance test for admission to MBBS, BDS, and Ayush courses.
AIIMS and JIPMER have been conducting their entrance exams until now. However, from 2020, AIIMS and JIPMER exams will be cancelled. Admission to 1207 seats in 15 AIIMS, 200 seats in JIPMER Puducherry and Karaikal will be conducted through NEET. This will set a common standard in the medical education sector in the country.
Every year almost 3 lakh students appear for AIIMS, and around 1.5 lakh students appear for JIPMER entrance exams. On the other hand, NEET has around 14 – 15 lakh applicants. Since AIIMS and JIPMER are cancelled, the applicants for the upcoming NEET exam will eventually increase in number.
Pros of merging AIIMS and JIPMER with NEET
- No more pressure to prepare for different exams. Students can now focus on one single exam.
- No more extra topics, as there will be just one syllabus to follow.
- The difficulty level will be less as AIIMS used to be quite tough than NEET, as per many applicants.
- The expense of filling different forms will be saved.
- No need to attend multiple rounds of counselling.
Cons of merging AIIMS and JIPMER with NEET
- One exam means only one chance. Before this, students still had at least 3 chances to prove themselves.
- The level of competition will increase.
- Students who had good conceptual clarity were able to make it to AIIMS. However, they will have more difficulty now as NEET requires more practice and solving speed.
National Exit Test (NEXT)
NEXT will be held as a common exam for undergraduate medical students. It will serve as a licentiate examination. Clearing NEXT will allow the medical students to do medical practice after completing their MBBS. Its sole purpose is to attain refined medical graduates. This proposal will take almost 3 years to implement from the date the NMC bill has passed.
- NEXT results will also be considered for the Post-graduate medical programs.
- Foreign medical graduates who want to continue their practice in India will also have to appear for NEXT; this will act as a screening test for them. Before this, they had to appear for Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE), but now FMGE is expected to merge with NEXT.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) was responsible for regulating medical education and practice. Over the years, there have been several issues concerning its regulatory role, composition, and lack of accountability. There also has been an allegation of corruption on it. Therefore, experts have recommended that legislative changes should be brought in the overall functioning of MCI.
This is why the NMC Act repeals the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (IMC Act) and also supersedes the current Medical Council of India.
The bill will replace MCI with NMC, and new members will be nominated. NMC will consist of 25 members, among which 15 members should be medical practitioners. There are four autonomous boards under the supervision of NMC:
- The Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) and the Post-graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) – These two bodies will be responsible for formulating standards, curriculum, guidelines for medical education.
- The Medical Assessment and Rating Board – This body has the power to impose monetary penalties on institutions that fail to follow the minimum standards laid down by UGMEB and PGMEB.
- The Ethics and Medical Registration Board – This body will maintain a register of all licensed medical practitioners in the country and also regulate professional and medical conduct.