The National Exit Test (NExT) for Ayush will be effective for the students who have enrolled from 2021-22 academic session. The announcement was made by union minister of state for Ayush (Independent Charge) Prataprao Jadhav. The minister announced that a committee set up to review the conduct of the NExT exam recommended for holding the exam for students enrolled from 2021-22 academic session under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) Acts, 2020. The decision has removed the certainty surrounding the implementation of the exam.
The committee, presided by vice chancellor, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Professor Sanjeev Sharma, submitted the recommendations to the ministry after reviewing the suggestions made by the students.
NExT is conducted as a mandatory exam for licensing and enrollment in the state or national registers after completing a one-year internship. The structure of the exam consists of a problem-based examination featuring clinical case scenarios, images and videos to evaluate practical skills.
The minister noted that interns who have not completed their internship but qualified in the National Exit Test will be eligible to register in the state or national registration board only after completion of one year internship.
The NExT is a key examination introduced by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) under the NCISM Act, 2020. It is designed to assess the clinical competency, medical ethics understanding and ability to handle medico-legal cases for graduates in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Sowa-Rigpa.
(With inputs from PTI)