KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal has officially approved the ‘Educational Consultancy, Language Teaching and Preparation Classes (Operation and Management) Rules, 2026’ to bring transparency and accountability to the sector.

Under these new regulations, educational consultancies must maintain a security deposit of Rs 2.5 million and pay a license fee of Rs 50,000, with licenses requiring annual renewal.

To protect students, cash transactions are completely banned, forcing all fee payments onto digital or banking platforms with listed prices published transparently on the consultancy’s website.

Furthermore, consultancies are held liable to compensate students if they end up stranded abroad or if their chosen foreign institution is found to be illegal.

The policy also restricts these businesses to domestic investment only, giving foreign-owned agencies one year to transfer ownership to local investors, while imposing strict penalties—including license cancellation and asset forfeiture—for institutions involved in fraud, tax evasion, or misleading advertising.