The number of Nepalis seeking to study abroad set a record last fiscal year as the figures increased nearly three-fold over a four-year period.

According to the Department of Scholarship under the Ministry of Education, 30,696 students acquired the No Objection Certification (NOC) letter, which is a must for Nepalis to get enrolment in academic institutions except in India. The number is higher by around 7 percent compared to the fiscal 2013-14 when 28,126 students had got the certificate.

The number of NOC seekers has tripled from 11,912 in 2011/12. In the lack of proper data at the Department of Immigration, NOC letters are taken as the reference while calculating the number of students opting for foreign degrees. Over 80 percent students who acquire the letters are estimated to leave the country. Education consultants believe an additional 30,000 Nepalis are enrolled in Indian colleges every year.

Educational consultancies say political instability, lack of quality education providers in the country and the students’ desire for foreign degrees fuel the growth in the number of outbound students. Financial security and high job placement rate are the other drivers. High visa success rate in Japan and the rise in departures for Malaysia and New Zealand for study are also the contributing factors.

The number of those applying for foreign education has increased since the devastating earthquake with around 20 percent of the students taking NOC certificates in two months—Jestha and Asar in the Nepali calendar. Uttam Pant, president of International Education Representatives’ Initiative of Nepal (IERIN), one of the umbrella bodies of education consultancies in Nepal, believes that the upward trend will continue until there is political stability in the country. USA is the first choice of Nepali students, he said. Students take other alternatives only after they fail to get enrolment in the colleges or universities in the United States. As income opportunities are comparatively higher in Japan, more and more students are opting for the country.

For the first time, the number of those opting for study in Japan was the highest last fiscal year. With 9,817 applicants, Japan topped the list while Australia with 8,844 NOC seekers stood the second. The numbers for USA were 3,104.

The ministry collected Rs61.39 million last fiscal year in revenue from the permits. This is a significant growth from the Rs56.22 million collections the previous year.

Fiscal year    NOC seekers
2011-12    11,912
2012-13    16,499
2013-14    28,126
2014-15    30,696

Country    Number
Japan    9,917
Australia    8,844
USA    3,104

Fiscal year    NOC seekers
2011-12    11,912
2012-13    16,499
2013-14    28,126
2014-15    30,696

Country    Number
Japan    9,917
Australia    8,844
USA    3,104

news source: binod ghimire, the kathmandu post, 28 july 2015