Press Release on Conference on the Concerns of Nepali Students in the UK

Press Release

The Embassy, in collaboration with the Britain Nepal Society (BNS), organized a first-ever day-long conference on “Concerns of Nepali Students in the United Kingdom” on its premises on Thursday, 29 January 2026.

The conference was organized in the context of the increasing number of Nepali students pursuing higher education at universities in the United Kingdom. Speaking on the occasion, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Bipin Duwadi expressed his happiness over the remarkable academic achievements and experience gained by Nepali students in the UK universities. He also shared the challenges and struggles that have been reported to the Embassy by a significant number of students, highlighted the initiatives taken by the Embassy to support them, and urged meaningful coordination and collaboration among stakeholders, including parents, education consultancies, universities, community leaders, and governments of Nepal and the UK.

Chairman of BNS, Mr. Nick Hinton, emphasized that the conference builds momentum for the  journey of students in the UK. He stated that BNS is ready to contribute, in collaboration with the community and the Embassy, by providing relevant information, communicating the policy updates, and offering informal support to the students in need. He also underscored that the consensus-based strategy that emerged from the discussions, and the resulting follow-on actions would make it easier for Nepali students to focus on achieving success in their studies.

Mr. Shiva Kumar Sapkota, Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, also addressed the conference virtually and answered participants’ queries. He expressed that the Ministry stands ready to review laws and regulations related to higher education, monitor agencies and discuss support mechanisms for students in crisis in the future.

The conference was also addressed virtually by Mr. Diego Moroso, Director of the British Embassy in Kathmandu. While stating that supporting international students is a shared responsibility, Mr. Moroso underlined the importance of coordination and collaboration among stakeholders. Mr. Rustom Mody, Director of the British Council in Kathmandu also highlighted the initiatives undertaken by the Council to assist young Nepali students and expressed his commitment to collaborating with the stakeholders to take meaningful steps in the coming days.

The conference featured a series of presentations and panel discussions. It concluded by recognizing the value and importance of building a strong stakeholder community and developing a shared understanding of the challenges faced by Nepali students, along with possible solutions. To build on this and maintain the momentum of discussions and achieve sustained improvement, the conference agreed to establish online expert forum comprising the stakeholders; set up a multi-stakeholder council with representatives from all stakeholder groups to improve coordination, communication and existing efforts, as well as drive new initiatives; and set up a working group to make policy suggestions to the government and communicate improvements and new initiatives to the students in areas related to rules and regulations in both countries; and, seek formal support while also extending informal support to the students. 

Irrespective of the size of the population, Nepal is currently the fifth largest source country of international students in the UK. Over the last five years, more than sixty thousand students have received No Objection Certificates (NOC) from  the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology in Nepal. In 2025 alone, approximately twenty thousand students obtained NOCs. In this context, bringing all stakeholders together and initiating sustained, regular dialogue to review key issues affecting Nepali students in the UK and to explore possible solutions was necessary.

The conference brought together more than 60 stakeholders and students representing universities and colleges in the UK, the Home Office, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Education in the UK, the Britain Nepal Chamber of Commerce, the Centre for Nepal Studies UK, Merging NepSocs, NRNA UK, alumni of Nepali students in the UK universities, professors, education consultants and media representatives. Officials from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu, as well as the British Embassy and British Council in Kathmandu, also joined the event remotely.

The conference concluded with a shared commitment among stakeholders to continue dialogue and cooperation to better safeguard the interests, well-being, and academic success of Nepali students in the United Kingdom.

The event was live-streamed on social media throughout the day to enable interested persons to watch remotely.

Embassy of Nepal, London
Friday, 30 January 2026