Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ...

N T I S2010Economic and Infrastructural Barriers The only IT park in Nepal is located outside the Kathmandu valley with a capacity of 300 persons. Thisis insufficient for a decent IT and BPO service provider; At times, the sector has experienced 16 hours of load-shedding every day. This is a problem even forICT providers equipped with generators due to regular scarcity of fuel for generators and the high costof such electricity; The cost of bandwidth is five times higher than that of India; The Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) appraisal is the international benchmark standardof quality and delivery capacity. Only one company in Nepal meets the CMMI standard so far; The sector lacks senior personnel with experience in space allocation, productivity-based perks, definedprocess (standard operating procedures), project management tools/techniques, security measures,etc.; Nepalese companies have not been able to effectively market their software products and capability inthe international arena.Education ServicesBackground on Education Services in Nepal As of 2005, there were 35,540 public schools and 4,480 private schools in Nepal, six universities, twouniversity-level medical institutions, and 621 affiliated campuses under these universities; Schools are scattered across country, but the higher educational institutions are mostly located in theKathmandu valley; Providers of education services can be broadly categorized as private and public. During 2005–07,public institutions accounted for more than 90 per cent of the supply of education services in Nepal; The GoN permitted private universities to come into operation starting in 1991; In 2001, government institutionalized the increase in private investments in schools and othereducational institutions, by allowing them to be established under Nepal Company Act; The private educational institutions are supervised by the GoN in terms of academic content, but theyhave financial and administrative independence; The GoN allocates an average of 16 per cent of the annual budget to the education sector, which standsat about 4 per cent of GDP. This is the highest allocation in South Asia; 3 In a study of education trade during 2001–03, 683 foreign students came to Nepal in pursuit of highereducation as against an outflow of 2,087 students to countries other than India. A total of 801 Nepalesestudents went to India for higher studies, creating a net outflow 2,205 students during the period; 4 India is Nepal’s major education trading partner, followed by the USA, the UK, China, and Australia. 5Potential for Educational ExportThe 2008 SAATEE study ‘Nepal’s Export Potential in Services’ suggests that there are many factors that makeNepal ideal for exporting educational services. Among these factors natural environment and religion are amajor part of the equation. Nepal is a geographically diverse country endowed with natural beauty and quiet3SAWTEE (2008) Nepal’s Export Potential in Services (Health, Education and High-End Retail Services), report submitted to Enhancing Nepal’sTrade Related Capacity, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies/UNDP.4Raychaudhuri and De (2006) Assessing Barriers to Trade in Education Services inDeveloping ESCAP Countries: An Empirical Exercise. WTO/ARTNeT Short-termResearch Project.5Shrestha (2004) Shrestha. Rameshwar. 2004. Education Nepal. APARNET online publication available at: http://www.aparnet.org/documents/education_and_training_info/nepal.rtf.220NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT