Number of Nepali students in USA increases by 25 percent

The number of Nepali students enrolled at US colleges and universities grew 25 percent last year (2005/2006), a recently released report said.

A press statement issued by American Centre in Kathmandu quoted a new annual report published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) as stating that the number of Nepali students enrolled in different universities in the US reached 6,061 in the fiscal year 2005/2006 as compared to 4,861 students in the fiscal year 2004/2005.

The report prepared with support from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs said the increase places Nepal among the top 20 countries sending students to study in the United States.

"In 2005/2006, Nepal rose from number 23 to number 19 in the ranking of countries, outpacing Pakistan, which is in 20th place with 5,759 students, and Malaysia, which dropped out of the top 20 with 5,515 students in the US in 2005/06," the statement added.

India, with 76,503 students in the United States, is ranked number one in terms of sending students to the US.

In a statement on International Education Week (November 13-20), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted, “Each year, more than 550,000 students from all over the world come to the United States to study in order to gain a better understanding of this country. They return to their home countries to share their experiences and develop careers that build on the knowledge and insights they gain at our college and universities. Many of the students go on to hold positions of leadership in their countries …”

According to Allan E. Goodman, President and CEO of the IIE, “With several thousand campuses able to host international students, the US has a huge untapped capacity to meet the growing worldwide demand for higher education.”

According to statistics, in 2005/06, the number of international students enrolled in US higher education institutions remained steady at 564,766. "This marks the seventh year in a row that America has hosted more than half a million foreign students," the statement added.

The statement further said that US Educational Foundation in Nepal (USEF-Nepal), commonly called the Fulbright Commission is promoting the US government’s commitment to promoting American education among international students in Nepal.

"Although we have implemented new measures to make our borders and the traveling public more secure, we have not changed the basic criteria for visa eligibility to visit or study in the United States," the statement said, adding, "Prospective students must convince the interviewing officer that they have the intent to study, the ability to study, and the means to pay for their studies. They also have to convince the officer that they will return to Nepal after their degree."

The deteriorating security situation and impact of regular strike and bandhs (shut downs) in universities is also a major reason for Nepali students to go abroad for further studies.