(New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the National Medical Commission Bill intended to replace the corruption-plagued Medical Council of India with a new body, in what was described by the government as one of the biggest reforms for medical education in the country.
The bill that seeks to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 was passed by a voice vote, amid a walkout by AIADMK.
The Lok Sabha, on July 29, had passed the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2019.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, in his reply, on the debate on the bill said NEET is already an institutionalised body which is conducting examinations in 13 languages.
#NationalMedicalCommissionBill 2019 को #राज्यसभा में चर्चा के लिए रखते हुए मैंने कहा कि स्वास्थ्य शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में आज का दिन स्वर्ण अक्षरों में लिखा जाएगा क्योंकि श्री @narendramodi जी के नेतृत्व में यह विधेयक एक बड़ा बेहतर सुधारवादी कदम है। @PMOIndia @MoHFW_INDIA #NMCBill pic.twitter.com/5hdEGSIvYk
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) August 1, 2019
“Once the NMC Bill is approved, exit examination will be implemented in the next three years,” the Minister said.
The minister said NEET counselling is completely transparent and thanked senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for his valuable suggestions.
The bill also has a provision for making national standards in medical education uniform by proposing that the final year MBBS exam be treated as an entrance test for PG and a screening test for students who graduate in medicine from foreign countries.
This exam, called the National Exit Test (NEXT), would ensure that the proposed National Medical Commission (NMC) moves away from a system of repeated inspections of infrastructure and focuses on outcomes rather than processes, Vardhan said.
(PTI)