PM requests swift applications for remaining scholarship seats as China closes doors

Kathmandu, February 25 — Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has called for quick applications for scholarships, stating that there have been fewer applications than expected. Writing a status on social media Facebook, he mentioned that the Ministry of Education has received fewer applications for scholarships in various fields.

According to the PM, due to insufficient applications, there are still vacant seats in several programs: 1 in undergraduate MBBS, 7 in postgraduate engineering, 3 in agriculture, 1 in PhD engineering, 1 in veterinary, 4 in IT, 2 in medical sciences, and 1 in conservation.

The Prime Minister has requested that applications be submitted as soon as possible (within a day or two) for these vacant seats. However, it was found that China had refused to accept additional applications for the seats mentioned by the Prime Minister.

According to sources in the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, the Chinese government had provided scholarships for 71 Nepali students for various seats. Of these, 51 seats were filled, while the remaining 20 seats were left vacant due to applicants not submitting online forms.

The Ministry of Education had requested new applications for the remaining 20 vacant seats, but the Chinese government clarified that it could not accept any more applications as the deadline had passed. Prime Minister Oli has posted to request applications for those remaining seats.

The Chinese government had written to the Nepalese government offering scholarships to 71 Nepali students for the 2025/26 academic year. Based on this, the Ministry's Scholarship Branch had called for applications on December 22, 2024. Once the applications were received, the Ministry selected candidates according to the available seats. On February 4, 2025, the Ministry published a notice listing the selected candidates.

The selected candidates were instructed to fill out the online forms and inform the Ministry within seven days. However, applicants for the remaining 20 seats neither informed the Ministry nor filled out the online forms, which led to these seats remaining vacant.

The Ministry had requested the opportunity to reapply for the vacant seats. However, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal clarified that they could not extend the application deadline.

Ministry officials indicated that the Prime Minister's call for applications for the remaining seats would be helpful since the Ministry's own efforts to request further applications were unsuccessful.

According to one Ministry official, "We had requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to initiate the reapplication process, but we were informed that no more time could be granted. If the Prime Minister takes the initiative, that would be good."