ECAN President Laxman Paudel Demands Clear Grievance Mechanism as Education Ministry Rolls Out Digital System Amid Police Crackdowns

EDUCAST, The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology has rolled out a fully online system to regulate and bring transparency to Nepal’s educational consultancy sector. Speaking at an interaction program titled “Regulation and Security of Educational Consultancy Sector: Legal Process and Institutional Cooperation,” organized by the Educational Consultancy Association of Nepal (ECAN), Branch Chief Semanta Koirala announced that all tasks regarding registration, renewal, and monitoring of firms would now be carried out exclusively through a digital system.

This development follows a massive, simultaneous raid conducted by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office on 95 educational consultancies operating without valid licenses, leading to the detention of 69 individuals. The crackdown has triggered widespread panic and confusion among operators, prompting many to shut down their shutters or halt services due to fear of further police action. This uncertainty brought state regulators, police, and business operators face-to-face to discuss a resolution.

Koirala highlighted that under the second amendment of the directives (2081 BS), firms failing to renew within the given deadline would face automatic cancellation. The ministry has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against malpractices, such as withholding students’ passports and promoting work permits under the guise of educational counseling. To combat this, a grading system (‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’) is being developed to guide students, and homework is underway to integrate the sector into the main Education Act.

Education Ministry Under-Secretary Semanta Koirala stated that an institution could not be considered legal until the government issued a formal registration certificate, adding that operators must keep their renewal letters and tax clearance documents updated. Furthermore, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Santosh Khadka clarified that the police had conducted the raids based on a two-month-long background investigation specifically targeting unregistered firms. He reassured law-abiding consultants that they had no reason to panic, emphasizing that the police did not intend to terrorize the industry moving forward.

On the other hand, industry representatives expressed deep dissatisfaction, arguing that the sudden widespread raids unfairly criminalized the entire sector. Former ECAN President Deepak Gurung lamented that the sweeping raids made society view them as human traffickers, warning that thousands of professionals would hit the streets if administrative errors were treated as criminal offenses. While the Federation of Educational Consultancy Entrepreneurs Nepal (FECE Nepal) backed the crackdown on illegal operators, it urged the government to prevent “media trials.”

Concluding the interaction, ECAN President Laxman Paudel highlighted a rising, concerning trend where some individuals use social media platforms and YouTube to systematically defame established consultancies, occasionally forcing them to admit to mistakes they never committed. To restore balance and safeguard legitimate business interests, President Paudel officially demanded the immediate establishment of a transparent and dedicated institutional grievance mechanism through which legal consultancies can formally lodge complaints against targeted harassment and defamation, stressing the need for robust police-industry cooperation to ensure a secure business environment.

 News in Nepali