KATHMANDU: The government has approved the Foreign Educational Programme (Operation and Regulation) Rules to improve the quality and monitoring of colleges operating under foreign university affiliations in Nepal.
The regulation, prepared by the Ministry of Education and Sports, was endorsed by the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. The new rules introduce stricter standards for colleges offering foreign-affiliated academic programmes.
The government said the regulation aims to enhance the quality, credibility and international competitiveness of higher education in Nepal.
Under the new provisions, foreign universities providing affiliations to Nepali colleges must be listed among the world’s top 1,000 universities. Earlier criteria had required affiliated universities to be included in international rankings continuously for the past five years and to have secured a position among the top 1,000 at least once.
The regulation also requires affiliated colleges to complete a two-stage Quality Assurance and Accreditation (QAA) process. Student admission quotas will be determined based on evaluations of physical infrastructure, academic capacity and available human resources.
The new standards will also apply to existing foreign-affiliated colleges operating in Nepal. Institutions failing to meet the required criteria will be given a specific period for improvement.
If colleges fail to comply even after the given timeframe, the government may take measures including restricting new admissions, refusing affiliation renewal or initiating legal action.
