1996-10-05

1. Special requirements to study general medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy

Article 1

Subject to the legal provisions governing the professions of general medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy in the Lebanese territories, the provisions specified in the following articles of this decree shall apply to the study and practice of these professions. These provisions shall apply to Lebanese students and other students residing in the Lebanese territories, hereinafter referred to as "students".

Article 2

1. Students wishing to study general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy in Lebanon or abroad are subject to a merit exam conducted by the Ministry of Culture & Higher Education during the month preceding June 10 of each year through the Lebanese University. Only a student who scores at least 12/20 as a general average shall be considered successful. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply as of the academic year 1997-1998.
2. To study medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy in any university in Lebanon or abroad, the student should have passed the merit exam.
3. The merit exam includes the following subjects: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Natural Sciences, provided that the questions asked are from the curricula of the Lebanese Baccalaureate, and for these subjects, the weighting of the rates is approved in the same proportion as the Lebanese Baccalaureate.
4. The Faculty of Science at the Lebanese University shall be in charge of conducting the merit exam mentioned in the first three paragraphs of this article.
5. The Minister of Culture & Higher Education shall form the examining committees to conduct the said merit exam from the professors of science faculties legally operating in Lebanon, and from a representative of each of the medical and pharmaceutical professions unions in Lebanon. The Director General of Culture & Higher Education and the deans of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Lebanese University shall supervise the proper conduct of the exams and the examining committees shall be chaired by the Minister of Culture & Higher Education with the Director General of Culture & Higher Education as vice-president.
6. These committees are responsible for

- Developing questions.

- Supervising the conduct of the exams.

-Supervising the correction and announcing the results.

Article 3

1. Students who pursue the study of general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy outside Lebanon are subject to an evaluation examination after they complete the second year for general medicine students and the first year for dental medicine and pharmacy students at a foreign university or institute, including students who began their studies during the academic year 1995-1996.
2. If the student fails the evaluation exam, he has the right to take the same exam in the following year. However, if he fails again in the said exam, he will not be entitled to participate in the colloquium exams after the end of his studies or to practice the profession accordingly in Lebanon.
3. Any student who fails in a methodological year, in the study of general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy, in a specific university, and transfers to another university cannot be promoted to the methodological year above it, but has to repeat in the university to which he transferred the methodological year in which he failed, and the Ministry of Culture & Higher Education shall exercise its control in this field.

2. Test Principles of Colloquium Exams

Article 4

1. The Ministries of Culture & Higher Education and Public Health shall organize and conduct the evaluation exams stipulated in Article 3 above and the Colloquium exams, and the Faculties of Medical Sciences and Pharmacy at the Lebanese University shall be in charge of conducting all said exams according to the rules.
2. The Minister of Culture & Higher Education shall form the examining committees to conduct the exams from the professors of the faculties of general medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy legally operating in Lebanon, as well as representatives of the medical professions unions as stipulated in Decree No. 1527 dated 6/15/1959, and the Director General of the Ministry of Public Health shall be a vice president, and these committees shall be in charge of:

- Developing questions

- Supervising the conduct of the exams.

- Supervising the correction work and announcing the results.

3. Participation in the membership of the colloquium committees is limited: Representatives of universities operating in Lebanon, provided that they have at least the rank of professor or assistant professor, and physicians, dentists and pharmacists who have practiced the profession for at least 15 years, provided that the number of assistant professors is not less than 50% of the total members of each committee.

Article 5

1. After obtaining the certificate of general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy from faculties and institutes operating in Lebanon and abroad, without exception, in accordance with the conditions mentioned in Articles 2 and 3 of this decree, students are subject to the Colloquium examination, which consists of a written, oral and clinical examination in general medicine and dental medicine, and a written, oral and practical examination in pharmacy. Any student who holds a university degree obtained by pursuing his studies by correspondence shall not be admitted to the colloquium exam.
2. Participation in the oral exam and the clinical or practical exam, according to the specialty, is only entitled to those who have obtained at least 12/20 marks in the written exam.
3. Every student who succeeds in the written exam reserves the right to apply for the oral exam in a subsequent session and only once.
4. A student who obtains at least 12/20 of the total grades in the written, oral and clinical exams in the specialties of general medicine and dental medicine and the total grades in the written, oral and practical exams in the specialty of pharmacy, provided that the grade of the clinical exam or the practical exam is not less than 8/20, shall be considered a final success in the Colloquium Exam.
5. Every student who failed the Colloquium exam with a rate of less than 7/20 is not entitled to apply for a subsequent course unless he has followed a qualification program at the Lebanese University, or at a private university if approved, for a full year.

Article 6

1- Students covered by the provisions of this decree shall not be given the right to practice the profession of medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy within the Lebanese territories unless they fulfill the conditions stipulated in the second, third and fifth articles of this decree.

2- The provisions of the second and third articles of this decree shall exclude students who obtain a medical, dental or pharmaceutical degree abroad, provided that they fulfill all four of the following conditions:

a. Following secondary education abroad for a period of not less than three consecutive academic years immediately prior to obtaining the foreign degree due to the residence of their parents abroad.

b. Obtaining an official equivalency to the Lebanese Baccalaureate certificate.

c. Permanent residence abroad for the duration of the university years until obtaining a degree in general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy.

d. Passing the Colloquium exams in all its phases as stipulated in Article 5 of this decree.

3. Transitional provisions

Article 7

Lebanese students who started studying general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy outside Lebanon before the issuance of this decree and have not yet completed the second year in general medicine or the first year in both dental medicine and pharmacy shall be subject to the evaluation exam stipulated in paragraph (1) of Article 3 of this decree. Lebanese students who started studying general medicine, dental medicine or pharmacy outside Lebanon and successfully passed the second year of their studies in general medicine or the first year of their studies in dental medicine or pharmacy before the issuance of this decree shall be exempted from the evaluation exam stipulated in Article 3 of this decree.

Article eight

The general and special texts that contradict the provisions of this decree shall be repealed, and Decree No. 1527, dated 6/15/1959, regarding the Colloquium Exam System shall remain in force in all its provisions that do not contradict the provisions of this decree.

Article 9

The provisions of the Colloquium exam stipulated in this decree shall apply to all students holding a general medical, dental or pharmaceutical degree and wishing to practice the profession in Lebanon starting from the academic year 1996-1997.

Article 10

This decree shall be published and communicated where needed and shall come into effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette.

Baabda, 5 October 1996

Elias Hraoui

Issued by the President of the Republic