The fourth edition of The Kathmandu Post Career Edufair kicked off in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu on Friday.

Chief Secretary Somlal Subedi inaugurated the three-day event. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Subedi said, “This kind of education fair is a must to promote quality of education in the country.”

Stating that education is the only tool that can lead the country towards prosperity, Chief Secretary Subedi said, “Events like this career edufair are a good platform for sharing information and knowledge.”

Kantipur Media Group (KMG) Chairman and Managing Director Kailash Sirohiya and Kantipur Publications Assistant General Manager Mahesh Swar were also present during the inaugural ceremony.

“Our aim is to provide a platform where the next generation can obtain and share information on career and education,” said Swar.

More than 150 colleges, universities and educational consultancies from home and abroad are participating in the fair.

According to the organisers, there are a total of 130 stalls and 13 pavilions.

More than 80 colleges from Nepal, 50 from India, seven each from Bangladesh and Australia, five from the United States and four from New Zealand are participating in the event.  

The Kathmandu Post Career Edufair, which is a calendar programme of the Kantipur Media Group, has been held regularly since 2012 except in 2015 when it could not be organised in the wake of a devastating earthquake that struck the country in April that year.

In the last four years, The Kathmandu Post Career Edufair has become one of the most preferred platforms for colleges and universities as well students.

Around 100,000 people are expected to visit the fair.

According to the organisers, different events are organised each day, including career counselling, motivational speech and interaction with the celebrities.

On Friday, LP Bhanu Sharma, principal, Apex College, talked about the Bagmati River Clean-up Campaign, while Girish Khatiwada, the country’s first rapper, enthralled the visitors with his songs.

According to the organisers, students visiting the fair can also have an opportunity to grab scholarships from the Lord Buddha Education Foundation (LBEF), Sharada University, Quest College and IHMS College among others.

LBEF is the title sponsor of the event with Herald College as the main sponsor and IST College as the sponsor. The event is supported by the association of colleges that are affiliated with Pokhara University. The event is managed by Array International.

There are attractive door prizes as well— two-night stay at Hotel Jal Mahal in Pokhara, lunch and dinner coupons at Hotel Himalaya, tickets for Q’s Cinema.

Students flock to event to learn about courses

PRASUN SANGROULA

Despite a daylong downpour, the inaugural day of the fourth Kathmandu Post Career Edufair at Bhrikutimandap saw a huge number of enthusiastic young participants. Mostly Plus Two graduates and those awaiting their final year results were seen at the fair looking for a right college/university for their higher studies.

As the fair has a sizeable participation from colleges and universities in India, Australia, Bangladesh, the USA, New Zealand and Australia, their stalls drew the most number of visitors to the fair.

Eighteen-year-old Samir Mahat, a +2 graduate from COHEAD College, Birtamod, said he was planning to pursue higher studies in Computer Science in the United States. “This is my first visit to such a fare. I believe it will help me find a right college to enroll,” said Mahat.

Many students visited the event to get first-hand information on courses and for career counselling. One of them was Parina Khadka, an A-level graduate from the Kathmandu-based Saipal Academy, who visited the stalls to learn more about biology courses in the US. “Since human biology is a new subject in the Nepali context, I came to the fair for counselling from the consultant,” said Khadka.

The representatives from foreign colleges/universities said they were encouraged by the turnout. Tarun Bhatta, senior officer at the Punjab-based Lovely Professional University, said most of the students who visited his stall were looking to apply for Engineering, B Tech in Computer Science, and business studies.

Some consultants who were there to provide career counselling said students prefer to go abroad for studies citing the delay in exam results and political instability in Nepal.

The stalls of tourism studies and hotel management colleges also drew significant numbers of visitors. “The possibilities in the fields of tourism and hotel management are huge in Nepal. On the very first day, we got many students to enquire about the prospect of a career in hotel management,” said Saroj Pokharel, a lecturer at International School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Gyaneshwor.

Umesh Dhungel, secretary of the Educational Consultancy Association of Nepal, said this kind of event gives students a right perspective on the subject they are planning to pursue. “With a large number of colleges/universities under one roof, it will be easier for them to pick the right one,” he added.