Misleading Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), deceptive advertising and false promises on internships, international industrial collaboration, earning during learning, employment opportunities, and future job prospects by private colleges associated with both foreign and federal universities in Nepal have become a substantial cause for institutional distrust, education fraud, and academic distress among graduate and postgraduate students.
Indeed, private colleges with huge investments and operating costs need substantial numbers of students to run their enterprise.
However, enrolling students with misleading employment claims without sufficient research on global job market requirements and job market evidence, a lack of relevant career planning, and genuine international and local industry linkages seriously undermine the socio-economic value of higher education in Nepal.
In a labour market in Nepal where there is a comprehensive mismatch between the oversupply of graduates and the declining demand for jobs from both public enterprises and private sector companies, it is easy to allure students with 100% placement claims and promises of jobs in different international locations.
Here, it is important to realise that both international and local businesses and industries hire interns and employees based on their business strategies, human resource planning, job requirements, key performance indicators, and market demands.
Moreover, international companies operate under strict labour laws, visa regulations, and national employment policies that limit who they can hire and from where and when. Despite these realities, multiple private colleges in Nepal have marketed their institutional branding and MOUs with international companies as a determining factor in hiring decisions for their graduates in both local and foreign job markets.
Additionally, there is a false assumption among colleges in Nepal that opportunities for jobs in a particular sector in a foreign country result in employability across other sectors of the economy in that country. For example, opportunities for hospitality internships in Japan, Malaysia, or the UAE for Nepali students do not mean that tech companies or other businesses in those countries can or will recruit interns from different knowledge domains and specialisations.
Hence, before making claims about international job prospects, private colleges need to critically evaluate whether their curricula, teaching quality, infrastructure, and graduate competencies align with the ever-changing dynamics of the international labour market and the global system of work.
Avoid claims based on misleading MOUs
Another issue is that private colleges associated with hospitality management, business administration, engineering, internet technology, and computer sciences in Nepal advertise Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with both national and international companies as proof of guaranteed internships and career pathways for their graduates.
These advertisements mislead school/+2 graduates who have limited access to independent career counselling and job-market information into believing that they will get internship and job opportunities in these industries. Hence, when private colleges present non-exclusive MOUs as guarantees of internships and employment, school graduates interpret these claims as assurances for their future job stability.
Whereas in reality, the tech companies or hospitality industries sign MOUs with multiple private colleges and foreign university partners for their own network expansions, business strategy, and promotional purposes. Besides, these MOUs are non-binding documents, and they do not assure internship opportunities, job placement, or employment outcomes during or after graduation.
Consequently, thousands of students from multiple private colleges with similar specializations compete for limited internships, of which only a few graduates get selected based on skill competence and placement availability.
Despite this competitive reality with limited job opportunities, colleges market their partnership with tech companies and the hospitality industries as if their graduates have exclusive access to these reputed national and international companies.
As students and their parents have already invested time, future and high fees for the degree based on misleading information, and when job expectations turn into bitter neglect, emotions of angst, anxiety, and distress of students spill all over social networking sites. More importantly, when the narratives of betrayal reflected in these social media posts become viral, they tarnish the image of an institution and create confusion and fear among prospective high school/Plus 2 graduates who want to pursue their higher education in Nepal.
Focus on professional and employability skills development
Rather than relying on exaggerated promises or false claims about international internships, exclusive local industry tie-ups, collaborative projects, or guaranteed job opportunities after graduation, higher education institutions in Nepal need to focus on developing the core employability skills of their students.
Higher education needs to equip its learners with critical thinking dispositions, problem-solving ability, teamwork, professional communication, networking skills, technical competence, ample industrial exposure, and understanding of corporate culture, which enables them to find employment opportunities both in the local market and in international companies.
Moreover, our colleges need to acknowledge that their graduates are not as passive recipients who are incompetent to find job placements without their support. Our colleges need to reimagine their graduates as grown-up adults with sufficient self-efficacy, independent learning competence, and creative confidence who can competently navigate highly complex career pathways and a competitive job market.
Beyond grades, exams, and theoretical knowledge, our university system and private colleges must emphasise the mastery of both technical and interpersonal skills through project-based learning, industry exposure, experiential field visits, interactive sessions with industry experts, workshops, applied problem-solving assignments, and practical case studies.
Private colleges also need to focus on co-curricular and extra-curricular activities that support professional skill development that aligns with industrial needs. Here, private colleges need to focus on building their credibility through the employability skills and employment outcomes of their graduates.
Furthermore, private colleges in Nepal need to empower students with lifelong learning habits and networking skills so that they can independently seek and create employment opportunities nationally and internationally.
More importantly, colleges, rather than making false claims, fake social media advertisements, and misleading promises that undermine student agency and diminish public trust, need to commit themselves to honest communication about employment opportunities with their graduates and focus on skill-centred education for their sustainable employment outcomes.
