Pass rates fall sharply

First-time pass rates in Final Assessment qualification exams for optometrists sat in July have fallen sharply this year.

Figures obtained by Optician indicate the students taking the Final Assessment in July, which replaced the old PQE Part 2 last year, saw results slump by over 21 per cent.

Overall pass rates across the eight optometry schools averaged 57 per cent last year and this year fell to an average of 44 per cent. The College of Optometrists declined to comment on the results. A spokesperson told Optician 'we do not comment on this issue as a matter of policy'.

But the fall in the numbers of optometrists qualifying at the first attempt is bound to raise questions in the profession. One employer told Optician that first-time results nationally had been really poor. 'The GOC and the College have spent a lot of time trying to improve things and it hasn't worked.'