EDUCATION NEWS IN NEPAL
KATHMANDU: The Nepal Nursing Council (NNC) has released the results of the 34th nurse registration (license) examination, revealing a troubling trend: over 80% of nurses failed the test. This dismal outcome, particularly in the Staff Nurse (PCL Nursing) license examination held last Saturday, has sparked concerns about the quality of nursing education in Nepal.
According to Sakuntala Prajapati, spokesperson for the examination committee, only 246 out of 1,270 PCL nursing participants passed the exam, representing a mere 19.34% pass rate. Similarly, over half of the candidates in the B.Sc Nursing license examination failed, with only 203 out of 414 participants passing, a slightly better pass rate of 49.03%.
Prajapati attributed the high failure rate in the PCL exam to the complexity of the questions. She also noted that many of the candidates were not new students, but rather individuals who had previously failed the exam. This repetition of candidates, coupled with the inclusion of students who had failed the B.Sc Nursing exam, contributed to the overall poor performance.
The 34th nurse registration examination was held from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM on Saturday at the Nepal Army Institute of Health Sciences, Sanobharyang, and Bagmati College, Sukedhara. The disappointing results have raised serious questions about the effectiveness of nursing education in Nepal, prompting calls for a thorough review of the curriculum and teaching methods.