The Department of Foreign Employment has suspended seven orientation centres as they did not meet the quality requirements while imparting training to foreign job aspirants. It has been closely monitoring orientation centres since February.

It has suspended seven orientation centres in the last two weeks, said director general of the department Purnachandra Bhattarai. “They did not meet the standard prescribed by the government,” he said, adding poor orientation is behind the exploitation and abuse in job places in job destinations.

“We are inspecting orientation centres on four major criteria — attendance of foreign job aspirants, quality of orientation, qualification of instructors, and record system — but results have not been satisfactory,” he said. The department warned orientation centres not meeting one or two criteria, but suspended those that did not meet three or all criteria, he added.

About 70 orientation centres are in operation in the country but only a few have been working genuinely. However, the situation has improved in recent months because 90 per cent of foreign job aspirants have been attending training programmes.

The attendance rate was less than 50 per cent in September last year.

Selling orientation certificates was the main job of orientation centres till a year back. Orientation centres charge Rs 700 for training in workplace safety, language and culture of the destination countries. The training also teaches foreign job aspirants on safe migration process.

Published on : 8 March 2013 | The Himalayan Times