Ministry urges students to use only renewed educational consultancy firms
KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has urged students seeking higher education abroad to receive services only from educational consultancy firms that have officially renewed their licenses. The ministry issued the notice while publishing the list of consultancy institutions renewed for the fiscal year 2025/26. According to the ministry, a total of 1,459 consultancies have received renewal approval. The decision to publish the updated list was made by Ministry Secretary Chudamani Poudel on May 20, and the details have been made available through the ministry’s official website. Under the provisions of the Educational Counseling Services and Language Teaching Directives-2016, authorities have intensified action against institutions operating illegally or misleading students through false promises and forged documents. Following inspections and raids carried out in different parts of the Kathmandu Valley on May 15, Nepal Police is preparing legal action against 32 individuals taken into custody from unauthorized and suspicious consultancy operators. Authorities said strict measures are being enforced against activities such as submitting fake information during foreign study applications, illegally producing and using government seals and letterheads, and running consultancy services without official registration. The ministry further stated that a nationwide campaign will be launched jointly with Nepal Police to reform and regulate the educational consultancy sector. Meanwhile, the Federation of Education Consultancy Entrepreneurs of Nepal said it supports efforts to clean up the sector but urged the government not to create unnecessary fear among legitimate consultancy entrepreneurs.
