KATHMANDU, JULY 9

Amidst the equivalency controversy, students and professionals residing across the globe have argued that TU's complex structural equivalency distribution policy is a major causes of brain drain from Nepal.

Nepal has been experiencing brain drain for many years and this has worsened every year.

In the fiscal year 2021– 2022, up to 114,000 students obtained NOC permits to study abroad. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2022–23, from July 2022 to July 2023, the number has already surpassed 82,000. This overwhelming number shows how desperate educated Nepali youth are to leave the country.

Students, even PhD holders have complained, 'TU has actively facilitated brain drain by keeping us out of the public sector.'

Aastha Dahal, a PhD holder in Policing of Domestic Violence in Nepal from the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, who has had to struggle for equivalence certificate from TU said, 'There are plenty of students suffering due to this and many have already left the country.'

'For example, Dirgha Raj Joshi is in the US right now, Barsha Dharel is in the US.

Her degree from London School of Economics wasn't given an equivalence. Similarly, Sristi Pandit is in Canada now. However, they are in developed countries.

They wanted to serve the country at some point in their life, but TU blocked that door,' added Dahal.

'When the country's youth do not see future in their own country, the future of that country will never be bright,' wrote Dirgha Raj Joshi.

'I can apply anywhere in the world before completion of my PhD, but there are no vacancies in my country. Even for the post of professor, I have to take a written exam, and it takes years to get the results. I will go through all this process, but before this, I have to get my degree equivalence certificate as I studied abroad.

Those who experience this know what the process is,' said Dirgha Raj Joshi, currently residing in the US.

'This is why I left Nepal. TU is infested with bureaucracy and unprofessional bumbaclots. It is seriously rigged in a way that forces folks out of their own country for opportunities,' wrote Satyam Shah, a Marine Biologist residing in the UK.

Senior Accountant, Durga Acharya, said, 'The prevailing state of affairs in Nepalese universities reflects a disheartening reality.

Consequently, a substantial number of students who recently completed their associate or bachelor's degrees harbour aspirations of pursuing higher education abroad.'

'I lost all hope of obtaining equivalence certificate. I convinced my family members to let me go to India and continue my profession there,'Dr Sharad Chand, Assistant Professor at Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India, told THT. He further said, 'I am not alone in suffering this and leaving the country. There are more than 60 students suffering from this equivalency problem.'

Meanwhile, 'For me, brain drain is not that big a problem because brain can be regained,' said educationalist Prof Bidyanath Koirala, 'This is hugely beneficial for developing countries like Nepal because they bring knowledge, skills,and money to the country. As a number of countries like China, India, and Japan have done it. Nepal should also regain its brains.' He further elaborated, 'I have talked with CDC (Curriculum Development Centre) TU regarding this particular issue and have suggested that they need to be flexible with equivalency. However, I had a terrible experience regarding this when students from Norway and Finland respectively complained about their experience with the equivalency issue. Therefore, TU needs to rectify its structural complexity and be flexible in relation to equivalency by following international trends.'

A version of this article appears in the print on July 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.