Medical and Dental Council "Banned" From Conducting Further Examinations for New Doctors Seeking Registration ‎

Ghana's Medical and Dental Council (MDC) has been barred from conducting further examinations for new doctors seeking registration, according to the front page of The Daily Searchlight on Thursday, 22 October 2026. The paper ran the story as its lead under the headline "Medical & Dental Council 'Banned'!".

The front page puts the words "Unfortunate, Exploitative & Extortionist" in quotation marks above the headline. They describe the council's examination regime. The cover does not say who used those words, and I have not attributed them to anyone.

Why the exams matter
The MDC licenses doctors and dentists in Ghana, and its examinations are a gateway for many new doctors. Many of those who sit the exams trained abroad. Earlier cohorts inducted by the council included doctors trained in Cuba, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Tanzania. A ban on further examinations could therefore leave newly qualified doctors waiting to register and practise.

Background
The MDC's examination rules have drawn pushback before. The council once capped attempts at the exam. Its registrar said candidates would be allowed only five attempts, after some candidates had sat the exam as many as seven times.

The council has since implemented a policy that bars trained doctors from sitting the registration exam after five attempts.

The council has said it is mandated by law to assess facilities and training programmes and to conduct examinations for registering practitioners.

The council has also faced court challenges over its exams. In 2018, an injunction affected its licentiate examination for physician assistants, and the council said it would ask the court to let the exam go ahead for the other qualified candidates. Earlier disputes also involved Cuban-trained doctors who asked for the mandatory exam to be scrapped.

What is not yet clear
The front page does not say who imposed the ban, whether it is a court order or a regulatory or government decision, how long it lasts, or how it affects doctors already waiting to write the exams. It also does not give the MDC's response.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/Science communicator, Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,United States Institute of Peace (USIP), [email protected] +233555275880