Kathmandu, August 12

Over 71 per cent of aspiring doctors and dentists, who had passed MBBS and BDS examinations from medical institutes within and outside the country, will not be able to practice medicine in Nepal for now, as they have failed the mandatory licensing examination conducted by the Nepal Medical Council.

All MBBS and BDS graduates must pass licensing examination conducted by the NMC  — a statutory body responsible for regulation of medical education and registration of doctors in Nepal — to begin their medical career.

A total of 912 MBBS and BDS graduates had applied for the examination held yesterday; 903 appeared for the examination, of which only 262 secured pass marks. This means only 29 per cent of the graduates passed the test and rest of them failed. This speaks volumes about the quality of education acquired by medical students.

Generally, 20 to 25 per cent of the students who appear in the tests secure pass marks, according to NMC Chairman Dharma Kanta Baskota. Over 60 per cent of the examinees are students who had previously failed the test, added Baskota.

The NMC allows medical graduates to appear in the licensing exam for unlimited time until they pass the test. The results of exams conducted by the NMA are published on the same day of the examination. These exams are held every four months. Of the 903 graduates who took the exam yesterday, over 500 were students who had previously failed the test. Around 150 students were fresh graduates from Nepali medical colleges and around 350 were fresh graduates from foreign medical colleges.

“Generally, over 80 per cent of medical students who graduate from foreign colleges fail the licensing test, while over 80 per cent of medical students who graduate from Nepali colleges pass the exam,” Baskota said.

Some of the foreign countries, where large number of Nepalis pursue medical education, are Bangladesh, China, India, the Philippines and Russia.

Prior to conducting licensing examinations, the NMC collects question samples from 13 medical experts.

A five-member commission then selects questions for the exam from this pool.