the Medical Registration Examinations, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the Medical Counci…
(No. B/1170) Dr. F. Aumeer (Third Member for Port-Louis South & Port-Louis Central) asked the Minister of Health and Wellness whether, in regard to the Medical Registration Examinations, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the Medical Council, information as to – (a) the number of – (i) candidates sitting therefor over the past five years, on a yearly basis, indicating the corresponding number of passes and pass rate, and (ii) attempts open to a candidate to sit therefor, and (b) whether the examination papers are vetted by local medical consultants in collaboration with the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate.
Reply: I am informed that prospective candidates need to make an application for Medical Registration Examinations as per Section 22 (1) (ca) of the Medical Council Act. No candidate is allowed to appear in the Medical Registration Examination unless he possesses a
127 diploma in Medicine or an equivalent qualification awarded by a recognized medical institution listed in the Medical Council Act 1999, as amended, and that the candidate has completed to the satisfaction of the Medical Council a period of not less than 18 months of Pre-Registration Training. With regard to part (a) (i) of the question, out of 722 candidates who sat tor the Medical Registration Examination over the past five years, 434 candidates have successfully passed the Medical Registration Examination, corresponding to a pass rate of 60.1 per cent. I am placing in the Library of the National Assembly statistics regarding the number of candidates who took part in the Medical Registration Examination on a yearly basis for the period 2021-2025. With regard to part (a) (ii) of the question, I am further informed that there is no limit to the number of attempts to the Medical Registration Examination for candidates who have not been declared successful in the Medical Registration Examination. Regarding part (b) of the question, the examination papers for the Medical Registration Examination are neither vetted by the local medical consultants nor by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate. The setting up of questions for the Medical Registration Examinations and marking of same is entrusted to the National Board of Examinations in Medical Science of India. During the first year that the Medical Registration Examination was being held, two representatives of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Science of India were bringing the examination papers for candidates who would be appearing for the examination. The question paper of a duration of three and a half hours consisted of 200 Multiple Choice Questions. In addition, the questions that were asked during the examinations were electronically selected from a bank of questions available at the National Board of Examinations and the marking of the answers were also done electronically. The National Board of Examinations stated that there is no human interference at any stage of the examination. The venue for the examination was decided by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate. As from 17 September 2020, a new Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between my Ministry, the Medical Council of Mauritius, the Dental Council of Mauritius, the
128 Mauritius Examination Syndicate and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Science of India. As per the MOA, the Medical Registration Examination is defined as a Computer Based Examination, of a duration of three hours comprising 150 Multiple Choice Questions. In June 2024, the Memorandum of Agreement was renewed for another period of three years till 2027. FERTILITY ISSUES – DIMINISHING BIRTH RATE – MEASURES ENVISAGED