NMC NExT Exam 2025: Why It is Being Delayed?

NMC NExT Exam 2025: The National Exit Test (NExT) will be a single licentiate exam for MBBS graduates in India. It has faced repeated postponements. First announced in the NMC Regulations 2023, NExT was expected to replace the MBBS final-year exam, the NEET PG, and the FMGE.

NMC NExT Exam is one more move by the National Medical Commission(NMC) to bring the needed Indian Medical Education Revolution, very much needed to fulfil the increasing need for healthcare in India.

However, after its June 2023 launch, policy and logistical issues caused multiple delays.

In this article, we will try to understand “why is the National Exit Test (NExT) being continuously delayed?” Below is a detailed timeline of announcements and delays, followed by an analysis of the key hurdles behind them.

NMC NExT Exam 2025: Announcements and Delays

Date	Event & Source
Sep 23, 2022	The Union government invoked the NMC Act to extend the deadline for holding NExT until Sept 2024
Dec 28, 2022	NMC released draft NExT Regulations for public comment, outlining exam structure and syllabus
Jun 28, 2023	NMC officially notifies the NExT Regulations 2023 in the Gazette, prescribing a two-phase exam (Step 1 and Step 2, twice a year)
Jul 11, 2023	Health Ministry directs NMC to defer the planned NExT (initially for Aug 2023) to avoid confusion, pending clarifications
Jul 13, 2023	NMC issues a public notice: “NExT is deferred on advice of the Ministry”
Jul 19, 2023	AIIMS-Delhi cancels its mock NExT (scheduled July 28) and begins refunding fees after NMC’s deferral notice
Aug 3, 2023	Govt. clarifies first NExT will be for the 2020 MBBS batch (not 2019) and likely in 2025, not 2024
Sep 2, 2024	NMC publishes new CBME curriculum guidelines: NExT (two parts) to start in the 2025–26 academic year (for students admitted in 2020)
2025 (TBD)	As of mid-2025, no new NExT exam date is officially confirmed; implementation awaits further NMC/Ministry directives.

Read Also: NMC Fee Guidelines

Policy and Legislative Hurdles

NMC NExT Exam 2025: Legal Issues

• A major controversy centered on applying NExT retroactively to students admitted before the NMC Act took effect.
• Parents of the 2019 batch challenged this in court, citing Clause 49 of the NMC Act.
• Section 49 stipulates that students admitted before 2020 should follow the old regulations.
• Many stakeholders argued that forcing NExT on these students was unfair and legally questionable.

NMC Act 2019, Clause 49 Clause 49 of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019, is a “grandfathering provision” that protects students admitted under previous rules. It explicitly states that any person who pursued medical education before the NMC Act came into force would continue to be governed by the erstwhile regulations, such as the IMC Act, 1956.

Combining Licensure and Entrance Exams in NMC NExT Exam 2025

• NExT was designed to serve a dual role:
  • A final-year licensure exam for MBBS graduates.
  • A PG entrance test for MD/MS admissions.
• Critics, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), flagged the overlap as problematic.
• Using a single MCQ-based exam to test both basic competency for licensing and competitive standards for PG entry was called “illogical”.
• Medical educators stressed:
  • Licensure should test clinical skills and applied knowledge.
  • PG entrance should focus on academic competitiveness.
• Combining both was seen as diluting the purpose of each.

Exam Format and Passing Criteria

• The June 2023 notification specified:
  • NExT would be an MCQ test with negative marking.
  • Candidates must score more than or equal to 50% in all six papers in one attempt to qualify for PG.
• Health Ministry reviewers argued:
  • MCQ suits an entrance exam, but not a final degree/clinical licensure exam.
  • Clinical licensing exams globally are often descriptive or practical.
• The strict passing rule was criticised as:
  • “Irrational” for not allowing subject-wise reattempts.
  • Potentially forcing students failing one subject to retake multiple exams unnecessarily.

Lack of Clarity and Consultations

• The NExT regulations left critical gaps, such as:
  • How existing exams (MBBS finals, NEET PG, FMGE) would be phased out.
  • How tie-breaking in PG rank lists would work.
• Stakeholders said inadequate consultation worsened confusion.
• After the postponement, the NMC invited feedback (Feb 2024) on whether NExT should replace MBBS finals.
• Many educators demanded:
  • Thorough trial runs.
  • Transitions applied only to future batches, not retroactively.

Regulatory Timing

• By law, NExT was mandated to begin within three years of the NMC Act (by Sep 2023).
• The government extended the timeline:
  • First to September 2024.
  • Then, further, when NExT did not take place in 2024.
• This revealed a clear tension between policy deadlines and ground-level readiness.
• Legal adjustments were needed to reconcile the law with practical feasibility.

Infrastructure and Implementation Challenges

Technical Readiness in NMC NExT Exam 2025

• Conducting a national computer-based exam for over one lakh students requires a strong digital infrastructure in every medical college.
• The IMA flagged “inadequate technical infrastructure” and a lack of trained faculty for online assessments.
• In late 2023/early 2024, 349 medical colleges were cited for faculty shortages, and 40 were derecognised, exposing systemic deficits.
• Disparities exist in:
  • Computer lab capacity
  • Internet connectivity
  • Exam proctoring abilities
• These gaps make uniform implementation highly challenging.

NMC NExT Exam 2025 Logistics

• NExT regulations propose two exams per year:
  • Step 1: After 54 weeks of study.
  • Step 2: During the internship.
• Coordinating thousands of test centers across multiple shifts is a massive administrative challenge.
• AIIMS was designated to conduct NExT but faces scaling issues due to the nationwide geographic spread.
• The cancelled mock test in July 2023 showed difficulties in planning even one practice exam on short notice.

NMC NExT Exam Syllabus Coverage

• NExT is designed to cover the entire MBBS syllabus (theory + practical/viva) in one test.
• Concerns raised by faculty:
  • Compressing 4.5 years of study into 6 months of prep is unrealistic.
  • Balancing the question bank fairly.
  • Managing language diversity for multilingual students.
  • Ensuring exam security nationwide.
• Though no major language disputes emerged officially, multilingual accommodations could create further logistical hurdles.

Read Also: Federalism in Medical Education & Healthcare: Tamil Nadu Report Review

Stakeholder Reactions and Criticisms

2019 Batch Students

• Students and parents of the 2019 MBBS batch protested and filed legal challenges.
• They argued it was unfair to subject their batch to NExT, citing the NMC Act’s timeline.
• Campaigns like #NoNEXTfor2019 gained traction on social media.
• The Supreme Court received a special petition, but before a ruling, NMC withdrew the notice under government direction.
• Students remain anxious: leaders noted “final year students still do not know the pattern” of their qualifying exam.

Indian Medical Association (IMA)

• The IMA (350,000+ doctors) has been a leading critic of NExT.
• In letters to NMC, it warned that hasty rollout would “jeopardise affordability and accessibility of medical education.”
• Concerns included:
  • Lack of uniform standards across colleges creates inequality.
  • Single exam format favours some institutions over others.
  • A uniform 50% cut-off would exclude a majority: only ~20% of NEET-PG takers previously scored above 50%.
• IMA argued that NExT defeats the vision of equitable medical education and risks harming weaker institutions.

Medical Colleges and Faculty

• Many colleges echoed concerns privately, though not all went public.
• Faculty bodies argued that:
  • Universities should retain the right to award medical degrees.
  • Replacing practical/viva evaluations with an MCQ-only test undermines clinical training.
• Several deans advised caution, pointing to infrastructure gaps and logistical challenges.

Regulatory Bodies

• The Health Ministry and the NMC managed the fallout after the protests.
• Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya (July 2023) assured that there would be “no NExT for the 2019 MBBS batch.”
• The NMC complied, deferring NExT and revising the academic calendar.
• By fall 2024, NMC rescheduled NExT for the 2025-26 batch (admitted in 2020).
• AIIMS, the exam-conducting body, has only conducted a cancelled mock so far and is awaiting further direction.
• Regulators are now pursuing a phased rollout with feedback and revisions.

Other Groups

• Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) associations raised concerns about how NExT would replace FMGE.
• Academic commentators also questioned the feasibility.
• The Supreme Court acknowledged the issues but postponed judgment pending new notifications.
• With no consensus, authorities are taking a cautious, incremental approach.

Also Read: NMC Chief Proposes Medical College Rating System to Enhance Education Standards

NMC NExT Exam 2025: Key Issues Summarised

Issue/Concern	Detail	Example/Source
Legal validity (Clause 49)	Applying NExT to the 2019-20 batch arguably violated Section 49 (grandfather clause) of the NMC Act, leading to petitions.	“Imposing NExT on the 2019 batch is a violation of clause 49”
Single vs Dual Objectives	One exam serving both licensure and PG entry creates conflict of purpose; many found this “illogical.”	IMA: “Using the same exam for licensing and PG is completely illogical.”
Exam Format	MCQ with negative marking suits entrance tests but may not fairly assess clinical competence.	Health Ministry: “Reasonable for the entrance exam but not the degree exam.”
Passing Criteria	Rule requiring 50% in all papers at once (for PG eligibility) was deemed “irrational,” potentially forcing extra exams.	Ministry note: Failing candidates would need two exams (license + PG)
Infrastructure & Training	Many colleges lack sufficient computer labs, proctoring capability, and trained personnel for a computer-based test.	IMA noted “inadequate technical infrastructure” and faculty gaps
Equity & Coaching	A fully MCQ exam could favour test-prepping (coaching) over practical skills, raising concerns about equity.	Critics warned MCQs “would promote rote learning” and boost coaching classes
University Authority	Removing university-run finals shifts degree-awarding power; colleges argued that degree control should remain with universities.	IMA letter: “Universities should not be deprived of their right to award medical degrees.”
Stakeholder Consensus	Rapid policy changes without broad consensus led to distrust; calls for trials and pilot testing have grown.	IMA demanded extensive consultations and trial runs before implementing NExT

NMC NExT Exam 2025: Future Outlook

In summary, NExT’s postponement reflects a complex mix of policy issues, infrastructure gaps, and stakeholder opposition. The proposed timeline has already slipped from early 2024 to mid-2025 for the first exam. Policy-makers have had to balance the statute’s mandates with on-the-ground realities:

• ensuring fairness to existing students
• securing adequate infrastructure
• aligning licensure standards

As of mid-2025, medical regulators are preparing to finalise a new schedule (likely August 2025 or later) and to refine the NExT framework.

According to the latest CBME guidelines, NExT will roll out for the 2025-26 batch.

Moving forward, authorities will need to address the raised concerns by clarifying legal provisions, perhaps simplifying the exam format, and strengthening college readiness to implement NExT smoothly.

For medical students, educators, and policymakers alike, the focus will be on making the exam fair and feasible: any further delays will hinge on whether these challenges can be resolved in time.