NMC gives MBBS students a one-time fifth attempt at the first-year exam

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has given medical students who have not been able to clear their first-year exams one more chance, raising the maximum number of attempts at the First Professional MBBS examination from four to five as a one-time measure.

The relief is for students admitted from the 2019-20 academic year onwards whose cases were pending before the Commission because of exceptional circumstances, including the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It also covers students who have already crossed the four-year limit for completing the first professional course.

There are conditions. A student’s admission must be valid and must not have been cancelled by the university or college. Students who have already had an extra “mercy” attempt under an earlier NMC decision or a court order, and so have used up five attempts, cannot claim another one. The decision does not allow a sixth attempt.

The NMC has also capped the time allowed to finish the MBBS course, including the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship, at 10 years from the date of admission. The extra attempt will not stretch that limit.

The Commission called the step a one-time transitional relaxation for students whose cases were pending. It said it should not be read as applying the amended rules on attempts retrospectively, and would not serve as a precedent for later batches.

The decision followed representations from students, universities and other stakeholders who had asked for an additional opportunity because of the exceptional circumstances these batches faced.