Kathmandu, December 28:

Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DoLEP) has started screening language institutes enlisted for imparting Korean language training for Nepali job aspirants under the employment permit system (EPS) of South Korea.

On December 22, DoLEP had enlisted 218 different institutes to impart EPS-Korean language training for Nepali job seekers in South Korea as per the implementation agreement recently reached between the two friendly countries.

“We have asked those enlisted institutes to come with original documents for final approval to run EPS-KLT courses,” said Keshar Bahadur Baniya, director general at the DoLEP, adding that the permission will be granted to those institutes who fulfil the set criteria.

According to him, those institutes that meet the criteria — mainly the physical infrastructure and language instructors — will get certification from the department after payment of Rs 5000.

These institutes can start training anytime soon after they get certificate.

Following the signing of implementation agreement between Nepal and South Korea on December 11, the EPS unit at DoLEP had invited the interested private language institutes for enlisting to impart the Korean language training.

He, however, said that all the students can take part in EPS-KLT irrespective of language they learned at any of these institutes or self- trained. “It is open to learn the Korean language anywhere,” Baniya added.

The recently signed implementation agreement has set up a number of criteria for the institutes that include qualification of language instructors, physical facilities and location, among others.

The size of classroom has been fixed at 200-sq-feet equipped with audio-visual tools as well as at least two teachers appointed for the training.

Likewise one class cannot have more than 40 students. The institutes should also have an adequate stock of books and well-equipped language lab.

A language teacher cannot work for more than two training institutes.

For the instructor, a diploma in Korean language is required in case of Korean nationals, whereas certificate level test pass on Korean language is a must in case of a Nepali national.

The criterion have incorporated requirements for Kathmandu-based institutes to set up liaison offices out of the Valley and vice versa so as to facilitate job seekers from across the country. The institutes can charge students a maximum of Rs 5,000 for a semester.

The trainees must take 150 hours or three hours a day for 50 days to appear before EPS-KLT. After completing the language training from these institutes, the trainees have to appear in a proficiency test that would be conducted jointly by Korean and Nepali representatives.

The labour agreement has also specified that a worker must be between 18 to 39 years old.

It also states that they must not have any criminal record and must not have faced deportation from South Korea.