NMCN Post Basic Nursing Exams and Programmes | Learn by Rightal
Official exam guide
NMCN Post Basic Nursing Examinations and Programmes
NMCN
Understand official NMCN Post Basic Nursing examinations, fresh and resit applications, registration, recognised specialty labels, and how to verify an approved programme.
Post Basic Nursing education allows a nurse or midwife to continue into an approved professional area after an earlier Basic qualification.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, known as NMCN, regulates these programmes. Its work includes programme approval, student indexing, curriculum standards, professional examinations, registration, and licensing.
NMCN's Registration page describes Post Basic registration as applying to qualified people who completed Basic Nursing or Midwifery training and then successfully completed an approved Post Basic Nursing specialty.
This page explains the official programme and examination pathway. For subject and topic coverage, use Learn's NMCN syllabus guide.
How Post Basic differs from Basic and Community programmes
Post Basic Nursing should not be confused with a first Basic Nursing or Midwifery programme.
General Nursing is a Basic registration route.
Basic Midwifery is a Basic registration route.
Post Basic Nursing follows earlier Basic Nursing or Midwifery training for registration purposes.
Community Nursing is listed by NMCN as a separate programme.
Community Midwifery is also listed separately.
Post Basic Midwifery has its own policy and programme context and should not be treated as another name for every Post Basic Nursing specialty.
Use the exact title attached to your programme and approval record. Similar school names do not make different qualifications interchangeable.
Post Basic programmes named by NMCN
NMCN's Indexing page names the following professional programme areas alongside its Basic programmes:
Mental Health or Psychiatric Nursing
Perioperative Nursing
Orthopaedic Nursing
Ophthalmic Nursing
Nurse Anaesthetist Programme
Accident and Emergency Nursing
Paediatric Nursing
Critical Care Nursing
Ear, Nose and Throat Nursing
Occupational Health Nursing
Burns and Plastic Nursing
Cardio-thoracic Nursing
Nephrology Nursing
Oncology Nursing
Public Health Nursing
This list confirms that NMCN recognises these labels in its indexing framework. It does not prove that every institution offers every programme, that every programme is accepting students, or that all specialties use identical entry and examination arrangements.
NMCN's Registration page also lists professional registers for areas such as Nurse Education, Midwife Education, Public Health Nurse Education, and Nurse Administration. These registration categories should not automatically be described as the same kind of clinical specialty programme.
Check the exact specialty approval
NMCN publishes institution and programme approvals with accreditation statuses, dates, and remarks. The latest first-party list located for this review is marked December 2025.
Read the accreditation status, status date, and remarks.
Look for an embargo, withdrawal, restriction, or other programme-level note.
Ask NMCN whether a newer decision has changed the published record.
Approval must be checked for the specialty itself. An institution approved for one nursing programme is not automatically approved for every Post Basic specialty it advertises.
What are the Post Basic entry requirements?
NMCN's Registration page provides the clearest safe statement for this guide: Post Basic registration applies to qualified applicants who completed Basic Nursing or Midwifery training and successfully completed an approved Post Basic Nursing specialty.
The same page includes evidence of previous qualifications or registration and a current licence within its Post Basic registration procedure.
These registration requirements do not establish every admission prerequisite for every specialty. NMCN's publicly available institutional standards focus mainly on what a provider must have, including:
Council approval
A specialty curriculum derived from NMCN's curriculum
Qualified educators
Suitable classrooms and learning resources
Relevant clinical and community experience areas
Administrative and examination records
Do not treat those provider standards as a complete student admissions checklist. Ask the approved programme for its current candidate requirements and verify any high-impact condition with NMCN.
When is the Post Basic examination held?
NMCN's undated standing page associates fresh Post Basic examinations with November. A January 2018 circular associates referred Post Basic resits with May. Neither source is a dated confirmation of the 2026 timetable.
Use the NMCN exam dates guide for the maintained schedule evidence and the NMCN resits guide if you have referred papers. Your school must confirm the current month, exact date, centre, application category and deadline.
How Post Basic applications connect to indexing
NMCN distinguishes fresh and resit Post Basic applications. Its older application guide says a resit applicant provides an index number and receives the papers attached to that application.
The current details of indexing, school clearance and the live portal belong in the NMCN indexing guide. Resolve differences in names, qualifications or index records with your institution before the applicable closing date.
Examination centres and small candidate groups
An NMCN circular dated July 2021 says an institution must present at least ten candidates to qualify as a centre for a professional examination. It says schools presenting fewer than ten candidates may merge with another school or move their candidates to the nearest centre.
This is an examination-centre requirement. It does not mean an individual becomes ineligible merely because their immediate group is small.
If your cohort has fewer than ten candidates, ask your programme where NMCN has assigned the group. Do not assume that your school will remain the examination centre.
Registration after completing a specialty
Completing a specialty and sitting its examination do not complete professional registration automatically. NMCN's published Post Basic process refers to the training institution, recent and previous qualifications or registration, and a current licence.
Use the NMCN registration guide for the maintained post-pass process and verify current documents and fees before submission.
Post Basic Midwifery needs separate confirmation
NMCN's indexing material names Midwifery as Basic and Post Basic. A 2021 circular also approved a single curriculum for Basic and Post Basic Midwifery and required schools wishing to enrol Post Basic Midwifery students to obtain Council approval.
The same circular discusses consolidation into ND/HND Nursing, while the December 2025 approved list still contains Post Basic Midwifery labels.
If your intended route is Post Basic Midwifery, use the NMCN Midwifery examination guide and confirm the current programme structure directly with the approved institution and NMCN.
Prepare after your route is confirmed
Your institution and NMCN remain the sources for specialty eligibility, application clearance, examination dates, centres, and official instructions.
Is Post Basic Nursing open to someone without an earlier Nursing or Midwifery qualification?
NMCN's registration guidance describes Post Basic applicants as people who completed Basic Nursing or Midwifery training and an approved Post Basic specialty. Confirm the admission requirements for your exact specialty with an approved institution.
Are all Post Basic specialties available at every approved school?
No. Approval must be checked for the exact specialty at the exact institution.
Is the Post Basic examination held in May or November?
NMCN's standing page names November for General and Post Basic Nurses. A 2018 circular names May for referred Post Basic candidates resitting the examination. Confirm the current arrangement for your cohort.
Does a school need ten candidates before I can sit?
The ten-candidate circular concerns whether an institution can act as an examination centre. It allows smaller groups to be merged or moved to another centre.
Is Community Nursing a Post Basic specialty?
NMCN lists Community Nursing separately. Do not treat it as a Post Basic specialty without a specific current Council source.
How long does a Post Basic programme take?
No single current first-party duration covering every specialty was verified. Ask the approved programme and confirm that the information applies to the precise specialty.
What is the Post Basic examination fee or pass mark?
No current first-party examination fee or pass mark was verified for this guide. Use only current NMCN instructions.
