As Nepal ushers in its 43rd Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, following last September’s uprising against decades of perceived corruption and nepotism, education reforms are taking centre phase.
Though the Himalayan country is sandwiched in between 2 Asian giants, India and China, it has an extremely high tertiary-level outgoing mobility ratio of around 19%– far exceeding India (1.3%) and China (1.9%)– something the proposed reforms are also looking to check over the coming years.
Based on the government’s 2025/26 governance reform roadmap, plans remain in place to overhaul the current No Objection Certificate (NOC) structure by categorizing subjects into concern and non-priority sectors, with foreign currency exchange permitted only on that basis. At present, students require an NOC from the education ministry to transfer tuition charges abroad.
The move, which would approve forex only for selected courses and sectors deemed essential for Nepal, comes in the middle of a larger governance reform push to simplify global research study and labour approval systems.
“In my view, concern sectors are most likely to align with Nepal’s wider development requirements, including STEM fields, healthcare, engineering, infrastructure, and emerging digital areas such as IT and information,” Roshan Ghimire, creator and managing director of Gen Z Global Visa and Education Services, a Kathmandu-based education consultancy, told The PIE News.
“Nevertheless, the meaning of ‘priority’ will be vital. If used too narrowly, disciplines such as arts, liberal arts, and social sciences might face indirect constraints, in spite of their value in long-lasting societal and institutional development.”
Despite more than 60,000 Nepalese trainees having been provided NOCs over the past five years, issuance has in some cases been tied to institutional compliance, enrolment stability and student welfare issues– most just recently when it comes to a UK university dealing with examination over missed out on enrolment due dates.
Any student grievance that reaches the embassy ends up being extremely sensitive. We constantly flag issues with universities early and ask to fix matters before they intensify to that stage
Deepak Khadka, Franklin Education
According to Deepak Khadka, founder and CMO of Franklin Education, with the Nepalese government actively seeking to curb brain drain– which stays above the international average– any spaces by universities in dealing with lodging, payments and student assistance are flagged right away, making potential tighter policy steps not a surprise.
“The Nepal government has substantial utilize through the No Objection Certificate system, as every trainee requires permission to transfer foreign currency abroad,” stated Khadka, while speaking at The PIE Live Europe 2026 session on Nepal’s potential for sustainable collaborations and trainee recruitment.
“Any student grievance that reaches the embassy becomes extremely delicate. We always flag concerns with universities early and ask to resolve matters before they escalate to that stage.”
Such disparities also affect representatives, specialists and the wider sector in Nepal, with proposed reforms requiring Nepalese consultancies to compensate stranded trainees and bring compulsory liability insurance if incorrect recommendations leaves them abroad at void institutions.
The reforms would also require consultancies to be openly graded on student success, complaints and service quality on the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s site, along with a centralised student movement database and digital tracking of overseas education-related financial deals to suppress informal cash channels.
“Specific locations, especially around digital tracking of monetary transactions and data systems, might move reasonably rapidly as they line up with broader governance and openness top priorities,” specified Ghimire.
“However, structural modifications such as reforms to the NOC structure, consultancy grading systems, and broader compliance requirements will likely take more time, as they need more policy clarity, stakeholder consultation, and coordination across regulatory bodies.”
With over 20,000 Nepalese students going to the UK in 2015, and the Basic Compliance Evaluation (BCA) framework set to be changed with a new regulative model in the coming months, sector leaders state compliance stays among the top issues for employers.
For Khadka, the instant focus is less on volume and more on survival in an increasingly compliance-driven market. “Compliance is the greatest thing that keeps me up during the night,” he stated.
He kept in mind that Nepal remains one of the most mature recruitment markets in South Asia, with more than 5,000 companies running in the nation, making it extremely saturated and significantly competitive.
Khadka also indicated the requirement for universities to construct Nepal-specific strategies instead of seeing it through a more comprehensive South Asia lens. He also highlighted growing issues around English language compliance and the lack of consistency among organizations.
“What we desire as agents is uniformity,” he said, describing inconsistencies around using medium of instruction (MOI) letters across providers. “Some universities accept MOI and others do not, which puts us at a drawback.”
Speaking throughout the Q&A at The PIE Live Europe’s Nepal session, Sudarshan Subedi from the British Council in Nepal raised issues over cases in which trainees had paid costs and travelled, just to face difficulties at migration due to language barriers.
“There are cases where students who were confessed and had paid the costs were unable to communicate with the immigration officer appropriately and were even deported back to the nation,” said Subedi. He warned universities against relying solely on medium of guideline as evidence of readiness.
“I believe medium of instruction, or English language efficiency, must not be the sole basis on which students are examined, but there should appertain checks in location to ensure they can comprehend what is being taught and cope once they arrive.”
Taking a more well balanced view, Michael Goodine, English checking specialist, said easier gain access to for students ought to be supported, provided sufficient checks are in location.
“I’m all about opportunity and access, and I like the idea that it ends up being simpler for students to get to where they wish to be. If it can be confirmed, and diligence is done, I ‘d be totally for that,” stated Goodine.
“Replacing the test with something that’s in fact beneficial sounds completely acceptable to me, supplied sufficient checks are in location.”
The roadmap also includes provisions to assist in international trainees and researchers coming to Nepal, including multi-entry visas of as much as five years and streamlined bank account procedures.
Alongside this, the federal government has proposed a Study in Nepal initiative targeted at drawing in international trainees in specific niche locations such as Buddhist approach, Sanskrit, Himalayan environment and adventure tourism– areas that, according to sector experts, offer “unrivaled immersion” for trainees looking for scholastic depth in these fields.
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