Kathmandu, Sept. 26 -- Only 39 percent of medical doctors-MBBS and BDS graduates-have cleared the licensing test of the Nepal Medical Council. This has raised concerns about the academic standards of future doctors.

Of 1,077 doctors-894 MBBS graduates and 183 BDS graduates-who sat the exam, only 421 secured pass marks in licensing tests held on Wednesday and Thursday.

The council, the national regulatory body for medical doctors and dentists, does not allow doctors to practice medicine without clearing its licensing test.

"Those who could not secure a pass mark cannot examine patients or prescribe medicines," said Dr Satish Kumar Deo, the council's registrar. "They have to sit another licensing test and clear it to get the license."

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