ISLAMABAD: The new management of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has put an end to rumours that the National Examination Board (NEB) will not be held, announcing that the exams will be held on April 15.

The NEB exams will be held at the Pak-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad and the Army Medical College in Rawalpindi for medical and dental students with foreign qualifications.According to a statement, the council is conducting the exams in collaboration with the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS). A total of 3,127 candidates will sit the exams in the twin cities.

The results will be posted on the PMDC and NUMS websites.

Pakistani nationals, mostly those who completed their medical degrees in China, Afghanistan, Russia, the Central Asian states and Cuba will sit the exam after fulfilling the PMDC`s requirements.

The exam is divided into threesteps, and began after complaints that doctors who studied in languages otherthanEnglishhad difficulty treating patients as well as regarding the quality of education.

An act of parliament in 2012 made it mandatory for foreign graduates to pass the NEB, although some postgraduate qualifications such as the American Board diploma and the United Kingdom`s Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and their equivalent are exempt.

Foreign graduates have protested against the PMDC a num-ber of times over the last five years, claiming corruption and nepotism on the part of the council during the NEB exams. The council`s former management, led by Dr Shabir Ahmed Lehri, changed the exam pattern and decided that results would be announced without delays toensure transparency.

The council was dissolved by the Supreme Court on Jan 12, and an ad hoc committee chaired by retired Justice Shakirullah Jan was formed to run the council`s affairs. The court directed that PMDC registrar Dr Waseem Hashmi would continue working.