Don’t hassle innocent people and genuine consultancies: ECAN

Kathmandu, August 20

The Educational Consultancy Association of Nepal (ECAN) today expressed serious concern about police raids on various educational consultancies in the city yesterday and the day before.

Organising a press meet here in Kathmandu, ECAN said that it would help Nepal Police book owners of those consultancies operating without registering their business with Educational Consultancy and Accreditation Section at the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Rajendra Baral, president, ECAN, said that MoE registered 41 educational consultancies in the first phase last year and 133 educational consultancies were registered this year in the second phase and 284 consultancies were in the process of being registered.

He said, “We are ready to support police in its investigation to book fraudulent consultancies, but innocent people and genuine consultancies should not be put into the same basket,” adding, “Overall, business should not be hampered in the name of police raid.”

He said that there were around 1,100 such companies registered in the office of company registrar while around 500 of them were already in the registration process of MoE. Thus, at such a time, police raid on consultancies and arrest of innocent people would terrorise consultancy operators.

He said, “We would have accepted if the police raid was led by MoE,” adding, “Innocent people should not be troubled while taking action against frauds.”

He also alleged that MoE of delaying the registration process and demanded that the government formulate a ‘Service Charter’ for consultancies.

He further said that MOE should have issued a final notice informing the concerned about the action if they were found operating without registration, but no such notice was given.

ECAN urged media houses not to defame the overall business on the basis of some institutions, which were operating without registration and cheating students.

The raids were carried out on educational consultancies in Kupandole, Lagankhel, Putalisadak, Kamaladi, Bag Bazaar, New Baneshwor and Chabahil.