Outward student mobility from Nepal has been disrupted after mass protests against corruption triggered nationwide shutdowns, including the temporary closure of banks.

The unrest, led by young demonstrators and dubbed the ¡°Gen Z protests¡±, has left at least 22 people dead and almost 200 injured.

Public offices and financial institutions were paralysed for several days before an interim government was sworn in on 14 September, restoring some stability.

For students preparing to begin courses overseas this autumn, the timing could not be worse, with banks now experiencing an operational backlog.

91ÇÑ×Ó

Hari Karki, director of Bizz Education, a student recruitment consultancy, said the shutdown had ¡°prevented students from processing tuition payments, securing their CAS or accessing education loans, with many now struggling to meet enrolment deadlines¡±.

He added that even Nepali students already in the UK were facing difficulties with fee payments?because of?the banking freeze.

91ÇÑ×Ó

Krishna Bista, professor of higher education at Morgan State University in the US, described the scale of the disruption as unprecedented.

¡°With banking operations halted and political instability ongoing, thousands of students cannot transfer tuition fees, secure visas and immigration-related documents or access education loans, jeopardising their enrolment timelines,¡± he told Times Higher Education.

¡°Such a systemic shutdown is rare and poses an acute threat to Nepal¡¯s outbound student mobility.¡±

Bista said?some universities ¡°are already informally granting short deferrals, conditional online enrolment, or payment-plan flexibility or short-term emergency work authorisation for students¡±.

91ÇÑ×Ó

¡°However, responses remain inconsistent and largely dependent on individual institutions¡¯ discretion rather than coordinated policy measures.

¡°Institutions and policymakers could help by offering deadline extensions, provisional enrolments pending payment clearance, emergency hardship funds and diplomatic engagement to stabilise banking channels. Clear, coordinated communication with affected students is also essential,¡± he continued.?

Since the new administration took office, the issuance of No Objection Certificates, required for overseas tuition transfers, has resumed and banks are again processing education loans.?

But, while normal operations have begun to resume since the new government took hold,?Bista warned that ¡°in the short term, outbound student numbers from Nepal are likely to decline sharply as students miss critical enrolment windows¡±.

91ÇÑ×Ó

Ananta Poudyal, director at Nabil Bank and president of the Australian Alumni Association in Nepal, said: ¡°This has to be one of the fastest revolutions in the world ¨C Nepal is already back on track within a week as an interim government is already in place and fully functional.¡±

Bista added that demand for overseas study is unlikely to fade in the longer run: ¡°The strong interest among Nepali students in pursuing higher education in English-speaking countries ¨C particularly the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia ¨C remains steady and is likely to persist despite the current disruptions.¡±

91ÇÑ×Ó

tash.mosheim@timeshighereducation.com