Department of Foreign Employment to implement iris recognition system

Kathmandu, December 15 — The Department of Foreign Employment has announced the implementation of a 'FaceTime Attendance and Iris Recognition' system for pre-departure orientation training starting from December 18.

After repeatedly postponing the date, the department has set a final deadline for its implementation. The system will be enforced from that date, as per the department's announcement.

Currently, biometric systems are used to track attendance for foreign employment orientation, but due to increasing irregularities, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security decided to implement the iris recognition system.

Based on this, the department had earlier announced that the system would be launched on October 15, but it could not be implemented on that date. The department has now confirmed that both iris and biometric systems are being used simultaneously.

The iris system has been linked to the national identity card, with the expectation that it will put an end to the irregularities that have occurred so far.

The department's engineers have coordinated with the Department of Immigration, the Passport Department, and the Department of National Identity and Civil Registration to integrate their systems.

Currently, 143 orientation institutions provide training to workers before they depart for foreign employment.

The Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies has stated that it has invested nearly NPR 130 million to install additional infrastructure and equipment to improve the system.