The School Leaving Certificate, popularly abbreviated as SLC is the final examination in the secondary school system of Nepal. It is equivalent to GCSE, the academic qualification in UK. Every student must take this examination for completing the 10th grade of their study before they join higher secondary or intermediate level education.
The Office of Controller of Examinations (OCE) is established under the Government of Nepal/Ministry of Education. Its main functions are to manage and conduct the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Examinations. The first SLC examinations were held in 1934(1990BS). Since then several improvements have occurred in the practice of conducting SLC Examination. The OCE conducts National Level Examination of more than 300 thousand students every year. The SLC examination is normally scheduled in April to June of every year. It is known as the "iron gate" in Nepal. In reality, however, there are indeed more obstacles regarding higher-level studies after the examination. Nevertheless, the SLC Examinations are the most important examination in the educational system of Nepal for building an academic career.
