Although Nepali students go to foreign universities and educational institutions for higher education, it has been found that the state does not have a clear record of them. Government bodies do not have exact data on how many students went abroad on scholarships by level and subject, or how many returned.
The 63rd Report of the Office of the Auditor General has drawn the attention of the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), stating that there is no record of students nominated for domestic and foreign scholarships from 2071/72 to 2081/82 in subjects including medical science, forestry, engineering, and agriculture.
Nepali students mainly go to countries including India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Russia for higher education. It is also mentioned that some students go to countries including Cuba and Egypt.
Countries providing scholarships correspond with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through their embassies in Nepal regarding quotas, subjects, and levels. As requested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education has a provision to select students in coordination with the Medical Education Commission or the Institute of Engineering. Last year, Bangladesh provided 22 scholarship quotas, Pakistan provided 10, and China provided three.
According to Kushaldev Ghimire, Under Secretary at the Ministry’s Scholarship Section, scholarship quotas may increase or decrease every year, and students do not always go under all quotas. Although students selected by the Ministry come into contact after completing their studies, the overall data is not clear because some embassies select students themselves.
As per the Scholarship Act, 2021 BS, students who have studied on scholarships are required to submit a report within three months after completing their studies. However, the Ministry stated that although there is a practice of assigning medical education graduates to service, students who studied other subjects have not been deployed in service according to their skills.
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