KATHMANDU: Dozens of colleges in Nepal are operating under affiliation with foreign universities without fully adhering to government standards, raising concerns about oversight under the current Balendra Shah-led government. Despite this, these institutions are not included in the government’s administrative reform agenda.
The government allows Nepalese colleges to run higher education programs through affiliation with foreign universities. The Ministry of Education has periodically formed study committees to review such colleges and provide recommendations for regulatory oversight. However, many currently operating institutions continue to function outside prescribed standards and have not implemented the recommendations of past committees.
Over half of the foreign-affiliated colleges in Nepal hold partnerships with lower-ranked universities. Under the “Directive on Operation of Higher Education through Affiliated Foreign Institutions, 2059 BS,” colleges are required to be affiliated only with universities ranked within the top 1,000 of the Times Higher Education or Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings. Similarly, a 2081 BS study committee led by Prof. Dr. Vinil Aryal recommended that colleges in Nepal adhere to international ranking standards and that each college should not hold affiliation with more than one foreign university.
Despite these guidelines, most of the 59 colleges currently operating under foreign affiliation fail to meet the criteria. Some institutions, including British College, are affiliated with multiple foreign universities, with at least one university outside the required ranking standards. Other educational chains such as ISMT Group and ING Group also do not meet the ranking requirements for their foreign affiliations.
Prof. Dr. Aryal’s committee recommended standards covering infrastructure, the number of affiliations, student population, and scholarships, but these recommendations have remained largely unimplemented for over a year and a half. According to Parshuram Tiwari, implementing the report would require amendments to existing directives, and past attempts have not progressed.
During the previous KP Sharma Oli administration, Education Minister Bidya Bhattarai resigned after facing resistance while attempting to regulate private schools, consultancies, and foreign-affiliated colleges. Ministry sources indicate that under the current Sasmit Pokharel, little progress has been made in addressing these regulatory gaps.
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