Kathmandu, December 10:

The officials of Nepal and South Korea are set to sign a crucial technical agreement tomorrow, clearing a path for sending the Nepali labourers to a much-favoured destination — Korea.

A South Korean delegation led by Lee Kye-Geom, director general at the Ministry of Labour, is in town to ink the implementation agreement (IA), a crucial technical accord and detailed procedure and technical guidelines for recruiting workers.

“We are all set to sign the IA tomorrow,” said Keshar Bahadur Baniya, DG at the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DoLEP), adding that the government has already finalised criterion for Nepali institutes for Korean language trainings.

A steering committee — formed under the chairmanship of the Minister for Labour to regulate foreign employment — has finalised the criterion for the language institutions on Friday.

Nepal and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding on July 23 this year, which opened doors for Nepali workers to go to Korea to work under employment permit system (EPS). Knowledge of Korean language is the must for eligibility for South Korean employment.

Baniya further added that the government has already called for interested language training institutions for enlistment at EPS unit of DoLEP. The recently set up criteria for the institutes include qualification of language instructors, physical facilities and location, among others.

The size of the classroom has been fixed at 200-sq-feet, equipped with audio-visual tools as well as at least two teachers appointed for the training purpose. Likewise one class cannot have more than 40 students.

Under the new criteria, language teacher cannot work for more than two training institutes. “To impart language training, a diploma in Korean language is required for Koreans, whereas level test pass on Korean language is a must for Nepalis,” informed Baniya.

“From the registered list, the government will select training institutes those meet the criteria and they will be allowed to run fixed language course according to the curriculum,” he said.

The criterion have incorporated requirements for Kathmandu-based institutes to set up liaison offices out of the Valley and vice verse to facilitate job seekers from rural parts of the country.

The trainees must take 150-hour class on the basis of three hours a day for 50 days. After completing the language training from these institutes, the trainees have to appear for a proficiency test that will be taken jointly by Korean and Nepali representatives. “The criterion are entirely aimed at minimizing incidents of cheating of Korean job aspirants by those claiming to give language training,” Baniya added.

Those successful candidates in Korean Language Test will be later called for an orientation and vocational training as per the requirement of employers. Korea is looking for workers in four major sectors: Agriculture, fishery, ma-nufacturing and construction.