YANGON, Over 3,000 students sat for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination held in Myanmar for the 2009-10 exam year, sources with the Yangon-based British Council said.

As the IELTS exam marks are recognized by universities in the United States, the number of candidates increased year by year from 1,097 in 2005-06, 1,380 in 2006-07, 1,400 in 2007-08 and 2,600 in 2008-09, the sources said, adding that nowadays the number of candidates sitting for exam for pursuing further study in Australia with the majors of medical doctor and nurse stood the majority.

Among the candidates, over 1,200 were qualified for studying in Singapore, over 960 for Australia, 360 for England and 60 for America during this year, it said.

IELTS, sponsored by the Cambridge University, International Education and Development Program and British Council, charged 145U.S. dollars for the exam fees.

The IELTS exam is used to be held at the British Council in Yangon every year but now the new exam center went to the second largest city of Mandalay this month, it added.

Over the past decade, most Myanmar students sought further study abroad for advanced education and the move has become widespread among youths in the country.

Among the Myanmar students who study abroad, over 50 percent are from Yangon, 30 percent from Mandalay and 15 percent from other parts of the country, education officials said.

The students pursuing education in foreign countries range from20 to 30 years of age, taking up 50 percent of the youths in the country, followed by those between 16 and 20, under 16 and 30 above. Of them, ordinary graduates stand the majority.