Over two-thirds of medical doctors who pursued their MBBS degree from various colleges within the country and abroad, have failed to obtain the pass mark in the Nepal Medical Council’s licensing test.

According to the Council, the national regulator of medical doctors and dentists, which conducted the licensing test on Tuesday, 69 percent of doctors and dentists failed to secure pass marks.

Of the 844 doctors who sat for the exam, only 262 passed (31.04 percent). The council said 241 out of 753 MBBS doctors passed the licensing test, while 21 of 91 dentists (23 percent) scored the pass mark.

“Most of the doctors who failed to secure pass marks for a license are repeaters, who sat for the exams multiple times,” said Dr Satis Kumar Deo, registrar of the Council. “Those doctors have graduated from medical colleges both within the country and abroad.”

Although high failure rates among medical doctors are not new to the council, as even those completing master’s degrees often fail the licensing exam, council officials say that nearly 70 percent of failures is a serious concern.

To qualify as a medical practitioner, a doctor must score at least 50 percent on the licensing exam. Experts say that the quality of medical education is being compromised by underachievers who do not deserve to practise medicine.

“Some doctors have failed to score pass marks even after 17-18 attempts,” said Deo. “If such doctors pass, they will start examining patients and any of us can be treated by them. This should be a matter for policy discussion.”

Council officials say Tuesday’s result could be the worst ever, as around 50 percent of MBBS doctors and around 70 percent of doctors holding master's degrees used to pass the licensing tests.

Nearly 30 percent of doctors who completed their master's degrees and sat a licensing test held in December last year failed to score the pass mark.

“The recent result of the licensing test is serious and needs to be addressed through policy reform,” said Dr Chop Lal Bhusal, chairman of the council. “The council will hold discussions with the ministers concerned—the Ministry of Health and Population, the Ministry of Education Science and Technology—and the Medical Education Commission.”

Licensing tests for medical doctors are a routine procedure in every country. Nepal’s licensing test focuses only on doctors’ knowledge. Some countries also conduct skill tests. Council officials said they had also planned to conduct skill tests in the past but could not due to the lack of skill labs.

The World Health Organisation said inaccurate diagnosis, medical errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities and practices, and healthcare providers who lack adequate training and expertise are present in all countries.

The UN health body says low-quality health care is increasing the burden of illness and health costs globally.