KATHMANDU: Nepali people willing to go to Japan for caregiver employment will have to participate in a lucky-draw system to get selected for the Japanese language test.
Those who get selected through the lucky-draw can only take part in the ‘Nursing Care Skill Evaluation Test’ and ‘Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test’.
Japan Foundation on Friday called for application forms online for the selection of candidates through the lucky-draw system. The interested candidates have to fill out application forms by October 3.
However, employment experts have called the lucky-draw selection process as against the labor agreement reached between Nepal and Japan.
On March 24, 2019, the Japan government had agreed to take Nepali workers at par with the other countries.
Selection process breaches the agreement
The Japan government is taking Nepali workers through a different process which is not mentioned in the labor agreement signed between the two countries. The labor agreement nowhere mentions that those willing to go to Japan for caregiver jobs must participate in the lucky draw system.
The Japan government is taking Nepali youths for caregivers in line with the labor agreement reached between Nepal and Japan on March 24, said Narayan Regmi, information officer at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.
“Every country has its unique system and regulations to take foreign workers,” said he, adding, “The Japan government might be taking Nepali workers in its own way.”
The Japan government in the labor bond has clearly stated that Nepali workers will enjoy pay perks and other facilities at par with the Japanese citizens in accordance with the Japanese law.
The Japan government was supposed to take Nepali workers from April 1 for 14 different sectors, including agriculture, hotel, industry, security, nursing as per the agreement.
It has planned to hire 400,000 foreign workers in the next five years for 14 different fields from nine countries including Nepal.
Meanwhile, employment expert Ganesh Gurung has accused the Japan government of disqualifying the Nepali workers by selecting them through the lucky-draw system, unlike the other eight countries to which this system is not applicable.
“How can we explore the language skills of a candidate through the lucky-draw system? Isn’t this unfair to the Nepali people?” questions Gurung.
Japanese language test
The Japan government has not set any criteria regarding the educational qualification of a candidate. But the candidates have to get through the ‘Nursing Care Skill Evaluation Test’ and ‘Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test’ according to the notice published by the Japan Foundation.
In the notice, the Foundation has said those Japanese job aspirants will have to participate in the lucky-draw slated for October 9 and those who get through this process have to fill out a voucher for the test.
The Foundation has clearly stated that no fee is required to fill out the form online for the lucky-draw process.
Those who get through the lucky-draw system will have to take voucher worth Rs 2,500 by October 11.
Earlier, Japanese Language Test had been scheduled for October 27 to 29 and November 7, 12 and 14. Now, the date for the exam schedule will depend on the result of the lucky-draw, reads the notice.
The time duration for nursing skills for the caregiver is 60 seconds during which 45 questions will be asked. The method of the test will be held through a computer-based testing system. Of the 45 questions, 40 questions will be written-based while 5 will be practical.
Likewise, 15 questions will be asked in Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test.
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