KATHMANDU, July 13: In response to growing complaints of student fraud, misleading advertisements, excessive service charges and weak regulatory oversight in the name of foreign studies, the Government of Nepal has introduced a new regulatory framework to better manage the educational consultancy sector.
The government has approved the Educational Consultancy, Language Teaching and Preparation Classes (Operation and Management) Regulations, 2083, aimed at making educational consultancies, language teaching centres and preparation classes more systematic, transparent and accountable, according to Semantaraj Koirala, under-secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports.
The ministry stated that the regulations, endorsed by the Council of Ministers, introduce provisions on consultancy licensing, a mandatory security deposit of Rs 2.5 million, license renewal procedures, financial transaction oversight, student protection measures, and service quality standards.
According to Koirala, chief of the Educational Consultancy and Accreditation Branch under the ministry, educational consultancies had previously been operating under the 2073 regulations. “The new directive now serves as a legal basis to strengthen regulation of educational consultancies—from controlling cash transactions to preventing student fraud,” Koirala told Republica. “Every year, around 50,000 students obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to pursue higher education abroad through two intake periods.”
He added, “The new regulations have been implemented with the objective of protecting students’ interests, ensuring transparency in service delivery and strengthening the effective regulation of educational consultancy institutions.”
Under the new regulations, educational consultancies are now required to deposit a mandatory security of Rs 2.5 million to operate. They must also pay a Rs 50,000 licensing fee. “Educational consultancy services can no longer operate without obtaining a license from the Ministry,” Koirala explained. “Since the sector is directly linked to foreign diplomatic affairs, registration with the ministry has been made mandatory. If any consultancy is currently registered at the provincial level, it must register with the ministry within three months of the regulations coming into effect.”
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He further said, “Language teaching centres and preparation classes, however, may continue to be regulated by provincial or local governments. The operating license will remain valid for one year and must be renewed annually.”
Standards for counsellors
Institutions providing educational consultancy services must appoint counsellors who have at least completed a bachelor's degree and received relevant professional training. They must also operate from their own building or from an office with a minimum three-year lease agreement. Under the new provisions, all financial transactions with students must be fully digital. Fees may only be collected through banks or other digital payment systems, while cash transactions have been prohibited. Institutions must provide official bills or receipts for all payments and publish details of their service charges on their websites.
The regulations also assign additional responsibilities for protecting students’ interests. “If students who received counselling are stranded abroad or if the institution they were sent to is later declared illegal, the consultancy must compensate them. Such compensation will be recovered from the Rs 2.5 million security deposit,” Koirala said. “The regulations also require students to pay educational fees through banks only after obtaining a No Objection Letter.”
The regulations further stipulate that educational consultancies must remain fully Nepali-owned. Institutions with foreign investment must transfer ownership into domestic investment within one year.
Likewise, educational fairs and exhibitions specifically targeting students seeking to study abroad have been prohibited. Any other educational fair or exhibition must obtain prior approval from the ministry. The ministry may also grade institutions into categories A, B and C based on service quality, performance and student success rates. It has also been given the authority to identify high-risk foreign universities and prohibit consultancies from sending students to such institutions. Koirala said the regulations also allow the ministry to revoke licenses and confiscate security deposits of institutions that fail to renew licenses, financially exploit or defraud students, provide misleading information or evade taxes.
No educational fairs for overseas study promotion
Chapter 3 of the regulations, which deals with educational fairs, exhibitions and seminars, requires consultancy institutions to submit an application to the ministry and, in the case of foreign educational institutions, from the relevant diplomatic mission, as well as registration documents, documents specifying institutional objectives and the required fee. However, the regulations require such fairs and seminars to focus on domestic educational institutions and to be organised in collaboration with Nepali educational institutions. “Notwithstanding anything written elsewhere in these regulations, approval shall not be granted for any educational fair, exhibition or seminar intended to target Nepali students seeking to study abroad,” Rule 7 of the same chapter states.
Opposition from consultancy operators
Laxman Paudel, President of the Educational Consultancy Association of Nepal (ECAN), said the government is attempting to shut down educational consultancies under the pretext of regulation by imposing excessively strict provisions. He warned that the regulations, introduced unilaterally without any consultation with concerned consultancy institutions, would not be acceptable. Consultancy operators say they support quality improvement but argue that excessively stringent standards will force small and newly established institutions out of business.
According to Paudel, while regulation is necessary, implementation procedures must be practical, clear and accessible. Otherwise, only a handful of large institutions will dominate the market. “The Ministry has allowed consultancies to operate as businesses, but our primary objective is to help Nepali students pursue higher education abroad. Now it says we cannot organise fairs, seminars or exhibitions on that very subject. That will destroy our business. We will be forced to shut down.”
He further warned, “Once the Ministry issues an NOC, students can directly enrol in colleges. Educational consultancies merely provide proper counselling. Such provisions will clearly allow only a few large institutions to dominate the market.”
He also warned that ECAN would seek legal remedies if the ministry failed to revise the provisions opposed by the association. Paudel added that ECAN also objects to the increase in the annual license renewal fee from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.
