Education consultancy operators say unofficially the letter has been stopped for all the countries.

Binod Ghimire

A day after the Nepal government banned on arrival visa to travellers from countries hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Education has decided not to issue no-objection certificates for study in the six countries.

Starting Tuesday, the Abroad Study Permission Section of the Ministry has stopped providing students with the permit to study in China, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Singapore. Japan has been the second most preferred destination for Nepali students at least for the past five years. Going by the data of the section, China stands fourth as the most favoured foreign country for Nepali students to pursue their university education while South Korea occupies the fifth place.

Between July 17, 2o18 and the end of 2019, Nepal issued 85,758 NOC letters. While 42,631 students acquired the certificate to study in Australian higher education institutes, their number for Japan was 12,317. As many as 3,164 students received the NOC for China and 2,112 got it to study in South Korea. If this data is anything to go by very few Nepalis aspire to go to Singapore and Italy for higher study.

“NOCs will not be issued until further notice,” Dibya Dawadi, deputy spokesperson for the Education Ministry, told the Post. The notice from the ministry says the number of restricted countries could change depending on the World Health Organisation’s report.

Education consultancy operators say though the government has officially listed the six countries, it has stopped issuing NOCs for all the countries. Santosh Pyakurel, coordinator of the National Educational Consultancies Association, one of five umbrella bodies of education consultancies in the country, said Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel has requested them to support the government’s decision.

“He [Pokharel] said the government doesn’t want to take the risk by sending students to any of the countries,” he told the Post. “Though it will affect students and the consultancies, we stand with the government’s decision.”

Last fiscal year, Nepali students received the certificate to study in 75 countries.

As of Tuesday evening, 92,236 people have been infected with Covid-19 and 3,131 succumbed to the disease globally. The six countries comprise around 99 percent of the infections and deaths. China alone has 80,152 infections and 2,978 deaths.

The government on February 16 evacuated 175 Nepali students studying in Hubei Province of China following the threat of Covid infection. They have reunited with their families, having been quarantined in Kharipati, Bhaktapur for 16 days.

Meanwhile, the ministry also has directed school operators to conduct all the examinations up to grade 9 within two weeks and send students on leave. Education Secretary Mahes Dahal said the ministry also has asked schools not to conduct any seminars and field visits until the threat of coronavirus ends.

Published on: 4 March 2020 | The Kathmandu Post