Foreign-affiliated colleges must rank in global top 1,000 and own Land to operate

The government has approved stricter rules for colleges affiliated with foreign universities. The Cabinet meeting held on July 9 endorsed the “Regulations on Academic Programs in Association with Foreign Universities.”

Ranking requirement

Under the new regulations, any foreign university granting affiliation to a Nepali college must rank within the top 1,000 in either the QS World University Rankings or the Times Higher Education rankings. Affiliations from universities outside this range will not be considered valid.

Colleges must also mandatorily obtain QAA (Quality Assurance and Accreditation) certification from Nepal’s University Grants Commission, in addition to receiving QAA or equivalent recognition from a quality-assurance body recognised in the foreign university’s home country.

The rules also cap intake to a maximum of two admission cycles per academic year.

Scholarships required

Colleges with foreign investment must provide full scholarships to 20% of their total students, while domestically invested colleges must provide them to 10%, according to criteria set by the government of Nepal.

Colleges offering postgraduate programs must have at least three full-time PhD-holding faculty members.

Only one affiliation allowed

A college will no longer be permitted to hold affiliations with more than one foreign university. Colleges currently affiliated with multiple universities must retain only one affiliation within a specified period; the rest will be automatically revoked. All colleges currently operating under foreign university affiliations must meet the new standards, and any that fail to do so within the given timeframe will have their affiliation or operating license revoked.

Institutions must obtain prior consent from the Ministry before establishing or registering an institution to run higher academic programs under foreign affiliation, by submitting an application detailing the relevant subject matter and the foreign university involved.

Land ownership made mandatory

Institutions that have received prior consent must own land to run the foreign academic program: at least 3 ropani in the Kathmandu Valley, at least 6 ropani in hill or mountain districts, and at least 15 kattha in Terai districts.

Institutions must construct a building on their own land and begin operating the program within five years of receiving the Ministry’s permit. Institutions already licensed before these regulations take effect must acquire land in the institution’s name within five years, and construct a building and start operations within ten years of the regulations taking effect. Land cannot be sold without the Ministry’s approval, and if land is to be mortgaged for a loan to fund infrastructure development or academic upgrades, prior Ministry approval is required.

License revocation for infrastructure or compliance failures

Failure to meet infrastructure conditions can lead to license revocation. Licenses will also be revoked if the affiliating board or university’s agreement is cancelled, rescinded, or terminated, if the college fails to fulfil credit requirements set by the affiliating body, or if it fails to submit a renewal application with required documents on time.

Changing the company name, university name, program name, program duration, degree title, institution name, affiliation, or operating location without Ministry approval will also result in revocation, as will running unauthorised programs, failing to update deposit/bond amounts on time, not paying annual student-fee-based update charges, or failing to renew. Institutions that don’t apply for renewal will be automatically cancelled, though they may still apply by the end of Magh of the following fiscal year by paying an additional late fee of Rs 100,000 per program per month; institutions that miss even this window may only change their name, program, affiliation, or operating location, and may add new programs.

Deposit requirements

Institutions must deposit funds into a government deposit account: Rs 1.5 million for board-run programs, Rs 2.5 million per program for undergraduate programs, and Rs 1.5 million per program for postgraduate programs. Institutions cannot withdraw these funds without Ministry approval, and the Ministry will only release the deposit once currently enrolled students have completed their studies, in case of program or institution closure.

Broadly, the regulations give non-compliant colleges a fixed period to improve; if standards remain unmet after that period, the Ministry may withhold affiliation renewal, restrict new student enrollment, or pursue necessary legal action.