Chennai: In the backdrop of National Medical Commission's recent issuance of new syllabus guidelines for the MBBS program, Ma Subramaniam, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, has assured that the syllabus for the undergraduate medical program will remain unchanged.

Under the new framework, the NExT 1 examination will be held after four and a half years of study, replacing the current NEET examination for students completing their MBBS and pursuing a Master's degree. Following a year of training, candidates will also be required to take the NExT 2 exam.

In a significant update, the Commission has announced that medicine can now be studied in 11 languages, including Tamil and Hindi, in a bilingual education format alongside English.

This new examination system is set to be implemented in the current academic year.

Despite the Tamil Nadu government's opposition to the NExT exam, Minister Subramanian confirmed in a recent interview that first-year classes for MBBS and BDS programs will commence in October.

He reassured that the existing MBBS syllabus will remain in effect in Tamil Nadu.