Nepal to hold medical entrance exam from October 31 — Kathmandu Post
Nepal plans to hold the integrated entrance examination for medical education programmes from October 31—almost a month later than envisaged by the academic calendar. Due to the delay, some applicants have already enrolled in engineering and other fields, although they had planned to study medicine, Kathmandu Post reports.
According to the Medical Education Commission's academic calendar for the 2026–2027 academic year, the examination was to be held in the first week of October, with results planned for release by the third week of the month. The commission began accepting online applications for entrance tests for undergraduate medical programmes only on August 10.
Grade 12 examination results released earlier
This year's Grade 12 examination results were published on June 19, nearly six weeks earlier than last year, when they were announced on August 4. The government explained the early publication by its intention to speed up university admissions and synchronise academic calendars. Of the 332,241 students who took the examinations, 231,770 passed.
At the same time, admission processes for engineering, science and technology, management and other programmes at most universities have already progressed. Arjun Dhakal, the commission's information officer and deputy secretary, linked the delay to the late appointment of its officials.
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Competition for places
This year, 77,359 people applied for entrance examinations for MBBS, BDS, nursing and other medical programmes. The commission is verifying the submitted applications. About 22,000 applicants applied for the MBBS entrance examination, while 2,635 places were allocated to this programme last year.
About 22,000 people also applied for nursing programmes. Last year, 2,430 places were provided for BSc Nursing, 1,062 for BNS, and 625 places for BDS; this year, about 11,000 people applied for the BDS entrance examination. The total number of places across 16 medical programmes last year was 9,273, but 8,548 students began their studies.
Buddhi Man Shrestha, vice-president of the Association of Private Medical and Dental Colleges of Nepal, said that disruptions to the calendar create difficulties for applicants and their parents. According to him, applicants who do not secure a place in a medical programme risk losing an academic year, as classes in other fields in Nepal and neighbouring countries may have already begun.
