Medical College students protest in Hamipur

Hamirpur, July 3  – Carrying placards in their hands, a large group of students of Hamirpur Medical College (Batch 2019) took out a procession and held a demonstration outside the College campus on Monday against the decision to hold the National Exit Test (Next) at “short notice”.

Notably, the National Medical Commission has announced that the test for the 2019 batch of final-year MBBS students will be held next year in two phases: Next Step 1 and Next Step 2. These will be tentatively held in May and November.
In a statement issued here, Ravi Kant and Itika, two spokespersons for the agitating students, said competing for a national-level examination at such short notice while maintaining college attendance and taking classes “is unjust, and we all stand together against the decision”.
The protesting students of the 2019 batch said it was “a gross violation” of Section 49 of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019.
The agitated students also sent a memorandum to the state Chief Minister, demanding justice.
They said,” During our admission to this course in the year 2019, no such exam known as NEXT was mentioned anywhere in our curriculum, and in fact, even when the new schedule came out after the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing regarding this exam was mentioned. Imposing NeXT on the 2019 batch is in violation of Clause 49 of the NMC Act because the 2019 batch began its course on August 1, 2019, while the NMC Act was published on August 8, 2019, and the act commenced in September 2020″.
They said, “Authorities have also introduced negative marking for a licencing exam that would degrade the passing percentage of students. All these rules are being set keeping the AIIMS curriculum in mind, but NMC should understand that not every college has the same faculties and infrastructure, and most importantly, not everyone has the same time to complete the syllabus.”
Moreover, the 2019 batch already had to face COVID-19, where clinical postings were greatly hampered and half of the classes were suspended.
The only time we got to learn during clinics was in our third year, and our final year has just begun in March 2023. In a bare span of 4 months, a college can complete its syllabus.
They clarified that they had already given the exams for Ophthalmology and ENT in previous years’ exams, so why should we repeat the same? Do our mark sheets from previous years even matter?
The students demanded that they (authorities) choose the proper batch to give Next, and 2019 is surely not the one they should face. We are not lab rats at NMC!
The students said their protest was part of a nationwide agitation being held between July 1 and 7. They said another protest would continue until July 7.