96 billion spent on foreign studies in 9 months

The data of the National Bank shows that the foreign exchange going out of Nepal along with the students for studying abroad has been continuously increasing in recent years. Experts say that there has been an increase in the trend of going abroad for higher education in recent years as there is work and good income along with studying abroad. They say that this has had a positive effect on the remittance flow.

Nepal has been experiencing political instability for a long time, government reports have shown that the number of young people leaving Nepal in the name of studies is increasing day by day due to lack of effective work from the state level for economic development, lack of new job opportunities. This is confirmed by the fact that the government data shows that the amount of money leaving Nepal for studying abroad is continuously increasing after the covid infection.

In the last financial year alone, 1 trillion 42 crore rupees were withdrawn from the country for studies. This is 48 percent more than the previous financial year. In the financial year 078/79, 67 billion 70 million rupees were spent for studying abroad. In the financial year 075/76, 46.32 billion rupees and 25.81 billion rupees were released in the financial year 076/77.

In the eight months of the current financial year (last July to February), 90,169 students have received foreign study permits (No Objection Letter - NOC) according to the data of the Ministry of Education. In the last financial year, 110,217 students took NOC. In the financial year 078/79, 112,968 people took permission to study abroad. This is only the number of NOC holders.

Similarly, the number of permission to study abroad has increased by almost three times in 10 years, according to the ministry. In the financial year 071/72, 30 thousand 797 students took permission to study abroad. Even for older students, families send expenses for a few years. Therefore, even though the number of NOCs has decreased compared to the previous year, the amount withdrawn from the study has increased. According to government data, only 94.1 percent of the NOCs issued from last July to February were issued to 10 major destinations. According to this, the highest number of 33.1 percent NOCs have been issued for Japan. 18.1 percent of NOCs have been issued for Canada, 14.4 percent for Australia, 10.3 percent for the United Kingdom, and 7.5 percent for the United States.

There are two types of opinion regarding whether it is right/wrong to withdraw a large amount of foreign exchange every year for study abroad. One says not to worry about spending too much money on studying abroad. According to them, when students study abroad, they not only take money from Nepal, they acquire knowledge, learn skills, earn money and give Nepal's identity in the international world. If the situation in their country improves in the future, they return to Nepal after seeing enough opportunities. So now, those studying abroad don't have to worry about spending too much money.

Another type says that the youth are forced to leave because there are no opportunities in Nepal and insists that the government should introduce a special program to stop them in their own country. It is time to wonder why so many students have gone to study abroad. They say that the state should also think about the weaknesses of Nepal's education system and curriculum. "Bachelor's degree is made in four years in Nepal, is it necessary or not, can a student who has passed bachelor's degree secure his future in Nepal?" asked an educationist, "Nepali who went for bachelor's degree studies in America is also guaranteed a job after completing that level." .

In all the discussions about the state of the economy in the last few months, the issue of controlling it has started to get priority as a large amount of money is spent abroad for studies. The National Bank has repeatedly informed the government about the possibility of a big problem if the outflow of money is not immediately controlled. However, the government has no plans to return the students who have gone abroad to Nepal and make them stay in their own country. However, according to the suggestion of the National Bank, the government has banned the affiliation of foreign educational institutions in recent years.