KATHMANDU: Nearly two dozen colleges in Nepal offering foreign-affiliated academic programs could lose their operating approval if they fail to replace partnerships with lower-ranked universities under the government’s newly enforced Foreign Academic Programs (Operation and Regulation) Regulations, 2083.
The new regulations introduce stricter quality standards for foreign university affiliations, requiring institutions to partner only with universities ranked within the top 1,000 globally by Times Higher Education (THE), QS World University Rankings, or equivalent international ranking systems.
Under Rule 21 of the regulations, colleges are permitted to change their foreign university affiliation. To do so, they must sign an agreement with a university meeting the criteria set out in Rule 7(3)(n) and submit an application to the Ministry of Education.
Rule 7(3)(n) requires institutions seeking approval to operate foreign academic programs to provide evidence that their partner university is ranked within the world’s top 1,000 by THE, QS, or a comparable global ranking system.
The regulations also address institutions already operating before the new rules came into force. According to Rule 21(5), colleges affiliated with universities that either lack Quality Assurance and Accreditation (QAA) or are not listed in the global top 1,000 rankings must begin the process of changing their affiliation within one year.
The replacement university must also meet the top-1,000 global ranking requirement.
Furthermore, Rule 21(6) states that institutions failing to submit proof of QAA status or global ranking within the prescribed timeframe will have their operating permits revoked.
The quality benchmark is not entirely new. The earlier Directive on Operating Higher Education Programs in Affiliation with Foreign Educational Institutions also required foreign partner universities to be ranked within the top 1,000 by Times Higher Education or the Shanghai Ranking.
The regulation is expected to affect a significant number of institutions currently offering foreign degrees.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology’s list of 56 colleges approved to run foreign-affiliated academic programs, published on Chaitra 23 during the tenure of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City-led government under Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen), remains available on the ministry’s website.
A review of that list indicates that nearly two dozen colleges are affiliated with universities that do not appear within the top 1,000 of the THE or QS World University Rankings, as required by both the previous directive and the new regulations. While some of those universities appear in subject-specific rankings, the regulations do not recognize subject rankings for affiliation purposes.
As a result, colleges that fail to secure affiliation with qualifying universities within the stipulated period could face the cancellation of their foreign academic programs under the new regulatory framework.
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