Nepal Medical Entrance Exams Begin Saturday: Over 77,000 Apply for 9,691 Seats

Kathmandu. The Medical Education Commission (MEC) is set to conduct the Common Entrance Examinations from Saturday for admissions to various medical education programs for the 2027 academic session. According to the Commission, 77,359 students have applied for a total of 9,691 seats across 16 disciplines this year.

According to the Commission's Information Officer, Arjun Dhakal, 269 examination centers have been designated at 78 locations across Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur. All examinations will be conducted from 11 AM to 2 PM.

Medical Entrance Examination Schedule

• Kartik 14: MBBS

• Kartik 15: BDS

• Kartik 16: BSc Nursing

• Kartik 17: BMS, BNS, B.Pharmacy, and other programs

• Kartik 18: BPH

Foreign Student Participation and Admission Process

The Medical Education Act provides for the reservation of 33 percent of the total seats for foreign students. Accordingly, 2,500 seats have been allocated for foreign students this year.

A total of 176 foreign students from countries including India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives have applied to take Nepal's Common Entrance Examination this year. Last year, 146 foreign students participated in the examination.

Foreign students can obtain admission to medical education programs in Nepal through two routes:

1. By passing the Common Entrance Examination conducted by the Medical Education Commission.

2. By passing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) conducted in India, which is recognized by the Commission for admission to medical education programs in Nepal.

According to Information Officer Dhakal, more students seek admission to Nepal after passing NEET in India than travel to Nepal to take the Common Entrance Examination.

Indian students account for approximately 90 percent of foreign students applying for and securing admission to medical education programs in Nepal.

Medical Education Admission Status in 2026

Last year, only 8,550 students were admitted against a total capacity of 9,273 seats, representing 92 percent of the available seats.

Foreign Student Quota

Of the 2,428 seats allocated to foreign students, only 746 students, or approximately 30 percent, secured admission.

The remaining 1,682 vacant seats were automatically converted into the domestic fee-paying quota.

Domestic Fee-Paying Quota

Initially, 3,970 seats were allocated to domestic fee-paying students.

Following the addition of vacant seats from the foreign student quota, 5,114 Nepali students were able to secure admission.

Scholarship Quota

Of the 2,771 seats allocated under the scholarship quota, 2,609 students, representing 94 percent, secured admission.

According to the Commission, all scholarship seats could not be filled because there were no eligible candidates available in certain inclusive categories.

Higher Demand for MBBS and BDS Programs

Foreign students have shown greater interest in MBBS and BDS programs than in other medical education disciplines.

Of the 746 foreign students admitted last year, 742 were enrolled in MBBS alone.

Foreign student participation in other disciplines, including Nursing and B.Pharmacy, remained negligible.

Similarly, Nepali students have shown strong interest in MBBS and BDS, while admissions to other medical education programs have generally remained below their allocated seat capacities.

Increase in Medical Education Seats and Students Studying Abroad

This year, the Medical Education Commission has increased the number of seats in government medical colleges by 418 compared with the previous year.

This increase will automatically raise the number of seats allocated to scholarship (free education) and foreign student categories.

The number of Nepali students pursuing medical education abroad is also significant.

According to Commission data, 1,859 students have been admitted to various levels of medical education over the past three years, while 4,741 Nepali students obtained No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to study abroad during the same period.

Among the students who went abroad, 1,677 traveled to India. Of these, approximately 1,350 students went to pursue MBBS and Nursing programs.