76% pass NEB examination

Islamabad

Seventy-six per cent candidates have passed the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council National Examination Board (NEB) Step III OSCE/Viva.

A total of 681 candidates, who did graduation in medicine and surgery from abroad, sat the exam and 522 of them turned out to be successful, according to the PMDC.

The examination took place at the Allama Iqbal Medical College and Fatima Jinnah Medical University Lahore from February 11 to February 13 under the supervision of the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Islamabad.

The overall pass rate of Part I exam was 70 per cent, that of Part II exam 77 per cent and that of Part III exam 86 per cent.

PMDC President Professor Shabbir Lehri said those with MBBS degree in languages other than English had to clear the NEB exam because it would help them understand medical terminologies in English.

He said there were also complaints about the quality of education in foreign universities.

“Sitting the NEB exam is mandatory for the doctors with foreign qualifications who want to do practice in the country,” he said.

The PMDC president said he won't tolerate corruption in the exam as there had been a bad impression about it in the people's eyes.

He said the new council had pledged to improve the system of the examination and over first priority to eradicate corruption.

Professor Shabbir Lehri said the NEB exam was mandatory for those who had secured MBBS degrees from a foreign university and wanted to do medical practice in Pakistan.