Nepal’s Ministry of Education and Sports has urged students planning to pursue higher education abroad to seek services only from educational consultancy firms that have officially renewed their licenses for the 2025/26 fiscal year, as authorities intensify efforts to crack down on fraudulent operators.
The ministry recently published an updated list of approved consultancies on its official website, confirming that 1,459 institutions have successfully renewed their licenses. The decision was approved by Education Secretary Chudamani Poudel on May 20.
Officials said students and parents should verify whether consultancies are officially registered before using their services, amid growing concerns about unauthorized agencies misleading students with false promises and forged documentation linked to overseas study applications.
Under Nepal’s Educational Counseling Services and Language Teaching Directives-2016, authorities have expanded enforcement actions against unregistered operators and organizations accused of financial fraud and document falsification.
On May 15, Nepal Police conducted raids on several suspicious consultancy offices across the Kathmandu Valley. Authorities are preparing legal action against 32 individuals detained during the operation.
According to officials, investigations involve allegations including operating without official registration, using forged government seals and letterheads, and submitting false information during foreign study processing.
The ministry also announced plans to launch a nationwide campaign in coordination with Nepal Police to reform and regulate the country’s educational consultancy sector.
Industry groups have broadly supported the government’s efforts to improve standards and remove illegal operators. However, the Federation of Education Consultancy Entrepreneurs of Nepal urged authorities to avoid creating unnecessary fear among legitimate businesses operating within the law.
The crackdown reflects growing scrutiny of the international education recruitment sector across South Asia, as governments seek to strengthen oversight of student mobility and protect students from fraud in the increasingly competitive overseas education market.
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