The government has declared application and examinations dates for the mandatory Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) language test for aspiring Nepalis migrant workers under the Employment Permit System (EPS) for the next year.

The EPS section under the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) has said that the candidates taking language test can register their names for the language test from March 22 until March 31. The forms can be submitted online, according to Shobhakar Bhandari, section officer with the EPS section. 

The language test will be conducted in two shifts on June 10 and 11, according to the EPS section of the government body responsible for overseeing recruitment procedures of Nepalis for South Korean jobs.

The applicants will have to pay the amount equivalent to $24 in Nepali rupees and submit copies of required documents while registering for the test. “Only those applicants born between March 23, 1978 and March 22, 2000 can take the language test as the candidates above 18 up to 39 years of age are eligible,” said Bhandari.

The South Korean government has already fixed the total number of Nepali workers it will be accepting in 2019. The Human Resources Development Service of South Korea has fixed the maximum ceiling of 7,100 Nepalis for its job market. Out of that, 4,800 will be placed in the manufacturing sector, whereas 2,300 others will be accommodated in the agriculture and farming sectors.

“The allocated number means the total number of candidates they will be passing through the test. However, the total of number of candidates would go up if there is a higher number of pass rates,” said Bhandari, who is also the information officer at the section. Last year, a total of 75,580 had registered for the language test online for job placement in 2018. Out of the total registered candidates, more than 68,000 appeared in the examination held in last June whereas only 12,108 candidates had passed the test.

However, the South Korean government has announced a job ceiling of 10,200, three times more than the number fixed for 2017.

Meanwhile, the number of Nepali workers selected for job placement has been growing. So far, the DoFE has issued a total of 2,857 labour contracts. A total of 28 Nepali workers had left for South Korean jobs in the first week of January and another batch totalling 174 workers is leaving for South Korea on Saturday.