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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has stopped issuing working visas to Nepali nationals.

Similarly, the UAE has also stopped issuing visit visas to Nepali citizens since Monday.

It has been learnt that the UAE stopped issuing working and visit visas to Nepalis after the government started investigating the incidents of vandalism, arson and looting during the Gen-Z protests and a large number of prisoners escaped from the prison.

Likewise, Nepali workers will not be allowed to travel to Korea on E-7 visas.

Issuing a notice on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Employment stated that the Procedure 2080, pertaining to sending skilled workers to the Republic of Korea would not be implemented, thus closing the way to travel to Korea on E-7 visas.

The Department stated that the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has issued a directive not to implement the Procedure.

Currently, Nepali workers are going to Korea through the Employment Permit System (EPS).

Academic institutions are the bedrock of any nation’s intellectual, social, and economic development. Nepal’s academic institutions play a vital role in shaping the nation’s intellectual landscape and driving socio-economic progress as they have served as nurturing grounds for scholars, thinkers, innovators, and leaders who continue to influence change across sectors. From centuries-old universities like Tribhuvan University to emerging colleges and schools, they offer a wide range of programs catering to diverse academic interests. However, challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, brain drain, and disparities in access especially between urban and rural regions continue to affect educational outcomes. Efforts are underway to modernize curricula, integrate technology, and enhance research capabilities to better align with global academic standards and Nepal’s development needs.

However, maintaining academic excellence is not merely about infrastructure or curricula—it demands visionary leadership, dedicated staff and inclusive policies. When institutions are guided by strategic foresight and ethical governance, they flourish. But when leadership falters, the consequences ripple through the entire community.

Role of effective leadership in academia

Effective leadership within academic institutions is a cornerstone for their success and sustained growth. It shapes not only the strategic direction of institutions but also the day-to-day experiences of faculty, staff, and students. It acts as the guiding force that propels academic institutions toward excellence, sustainability and innovation. Leaders who embody vision, integrity and strategic acumen inspire faculty, students and staff to strive for higher standards and embrace continuous improvement. They create an environment that promotes collaboration, supports research and champions inclusive learning practices. In navigating educational reforms, resource constraints, and shifting societal needs, effective leadership ensures academic institutions stay adaptive, resilient and focused on delivering quality education and impactful contributions to society.

Leadership in academic institutions is often seen as an administrative necessity but in reality, it is the cultural compass that determines morale, productivity and institutional legacy. In Nepalese educational institutions, where the education sector is expanding rapidly, the role of leadership has become more critical than ever. When done well, it inspires excellence; when done poorly, it erodes motivation and fuels disillusionment.

Leadership in academic settings goes far beyond administrative decision-making. It entails inspiring a shared vision, cultivating talent, building trust and steering the institution through challenges and change. It involves setting a clear strategic direction, inspiring faculty and students, and promoting innovation in teaching and research. It plays a vital role in shaping the vision, culture and performance of educational institutions. 

Effective leadership in academia plays a vital role in shaping the values, norms, and culture of institutions, fostering academic freedom, integrity, and inclusivity. By empowering and mentoring faculty and staff, leadership nurtures professional growth and encourages meaningful contributions. It ensures strategic alignment by keeping departments, programs, and initiatives in line with the institution’s mission and vision. Strong leadership is also ethically grounded, creating transparency, fairness, equality, trust, and mutual respect, which drive both institutional and individual development. Furthermore, it enables innovation by cultivating conditions that embrace technological changes, research breakthroughs, interdisciplinary collaboration, and academic reforms. Finally, effective leadership establishes systemic accountability through frameworks for performance evaluation, quality assurance, and ethical governance, ensuring sustainable progress and excellence in academia.

When leadership exhibits these qualities, institutions become hubs of excellence where students flourish, educators innovate and communities thrive.

Consequences of leadership failure: When vision fades

Unfortunately, not all academic institutions are steered with such care. When leadership becomes ineffective, the damage can be deep and far-reaching. Staff morale declines, academic output suffers, institutional credibility erodes and in the worst cases, financial and reputational bankruptcy looms.

Leadership failure often manifests in several ways that can severely undermine an institution’s growth and sustainability. Nepotism and favoritism, where unqualified or inexperienced individuals are hired based on personal connections rather than merit, weaken organizational credibility. Financial mismanagement, including the irresponsible allocation of resources, can lead to unsustainable expenditures and long-term instability. Poor communication, marked by the absence of dialogue and empathy between management and staff, creates a culture of mistrust and disengagement. Overstaffing further exacerbates financial strain, as unnecessary hiring may drain resources and even push an institution toward bankruptcy. Disrespecting the experience and commitment of long-serving employees fosters resentment and diminishes morale, while the erosion of institutional culture undermines the values and mission that once guided success. Together, these failures illustrate how ineffective leadership can damage both people and organizations.

Leadership failure in academia can quietly erode the very foundations of educational institutions, affecting not just operations but the emotional and intellectual well-being of everyone involved in it.

Intellectual and emotional fallout

Poor leadership can significantly impact the mental and emotional well-being of an academic community. Faculty, employees, and students often experience chronic stress, burnout, and anxiety when faced with unclear expectations, lack of support, or toxic environments. A fear-based culture may develop, discouraging individuals from taking initiative or voicing concerns due to the risk of backlash. Leadership that resists or mishandles change can leave teams stagnant and unable to adapt to new challenges. Over time, these issues contribute to low morale, with faculty and staff feeling undervalued and isolated, ultimately leading to demotivation and declining performance.

Institutional consequences

Leadership failure can create significant challenges for an institution, ranging from instability and conflict to potential collapse. When leaders act without transparency or ethical consideration, trust among staff, students, and external stakeholders—including the public—diminishes. Institutions lacking visionary leadership may stagnate, struggling to adopt new technologies, pedagogies, or research initiatives. Such failures often foster a toxic culture characterized by fear, favoritism, and exclusion, which contributes to disengagement and high turnover. Poor decision-making, misaligned with institutional goals, can compound these issues, while public failures or scandals may cause long-term reputational damage. Additionally, mismanagement frequently results in financial losses, wasted resources, and missed opportunities, undermining both growth and sustainability.

Operational impact

Ineffective leadership can lead to institutional fragmentation, with departments or teams operating in silos and lacking cohesion or a shared sense of purpose. Misallocation of resources often occurs when leaders prioritize vanity projects or personal agendas over meaningful academic initiatives. Such failures can also result in a decline in the institution’s reputation, as scandals or mismanagement negatively affect public perception and student enrollment. Moreover, systemic issues—such as inequality, favoritism, and low motivation—may go unaddressed or be mishandled, further exacerbating dysfunction within the institution.

Long-term effects

Ineffective leadership can trigger a talent drain, as high-performing staff and qualified educators leave toxic environments, weakening the institution’s academic standing. Such leadership often breeds cynicism, creating resistance to change and making it difficult to implement reforms or embrace innovation. Over time, dysfunction can become normalized, with mediocrity accepted and excellence treated as the exception. Without visionary guidance, institutions may experience strategic drift, losing direction and relevance. Habitual dysfunction further entrenches these problems, making future recovery increasingly difficult.

These dysfunctions are not just managerial mistakes, they’re institutional threats. A motivated employee doesn’t just complete tasks; they contribute ideas, mentor others and take ownership of outcomes. When leadership fails to recognize the value of experience and loyalty, respect tenure, competence and integrity, these deeper forms of performance disappear and the institution begins to decay from within.

Towards leadership that inspires

If Nepal’s educational institutions are serious about academic excellence, they must rethink how leadership is structured, selected and held accountable. 

Effective leadership requires transparency, fairness, and inclusivity. Decisions regarding promotions and appointments should be based on merit and institutional needs rather than personal affiliations. Long-serving employees should be recognized and celebrated, with their contributions serving as a source of institutional strength. Compensation and role allocation must fairly reflect experience, responsibility, and performance, avoiding favoritism. Moreover, faculty and staff should be included in strategic conversations, fostering an inclusive leadership culture rather than one in which they are merely expected to follow orders. 

In Nepal’s fast-growing education sector, good leadership isn’t just desirable, it’s essential. Yet behind the shiny prospectuses and sprawling institutions, many institutions suffer from a quiet leadership crisis. 

In some of the educational institutions, research shows that long serving staff who helped shape its foundation have been sidelined, humiliated and excluded. They have been replaced by newcomers with little experience but with better pay and bigger titles. What message does this send? It tells us that loyalty no longer matters. That performance and experience can be discarded. And that motivation arguably the lifeblood of an academic institution is expendable.

Leadership must be more than administrative shuffle. It must inspire. Fairness in promotions, respect for institutional memory and acknowledgment of contributions, these are not optional luxuries, these are the essence of any thriving workplace. If such institutions continue to replace dedication with favoritism, they risk breaking the spirit of those who carried them this far. And that’s a price no institution should be willing to pay.

Leadership can build or break an institution. In our classrooms and offices, the tone set by leaders’ echoes throughout the academic community. For Nepal to elevate its educational institutions to global standards, leadership must evolve not just structurally, but morally. Respect is not optional. Experience is not disposable. And no academic institution can flourish when its people are silenced, sidelined or shamed.

The author is lecturer of management at NASA International College

I want to make it clear that I’m not an expert on interior design but I’ve always been fascinated by home decor. Ever since I was in school, I’d try to make small changes in my parent’s home that would make it look and feel better. Sometimes, I’d add a big vase to the center table, other times, I’d save up my allowance to buy a striking decor piece. Over time, little things added up and our living room was transformed. My parents even got the sofas reupholstered to give it a brand new feel. Sensing I was trying to make things look nicer, they also changed what they could. 

But home decor for me has always been an evolving process. It’s not something you do once and settle into. You have to constantly keep changing things, even if it’s something as simple as just moving things around to shake things up a bit. Many of my friends claim to be bored of their decor but say they don’t have the time or energy to make major upgrades. What they don’t realize is that a small change such as moving your couches in a different arrangement or changing some cushion covers can give your home a much-needed facelift.

Keep tweaking things

At home, even after our living and dining areas got the makeover I thought they needed, I’d always keep tweaking things. I’d add or move pictures or paintings, switch up the cushions, buy a throw for the sofa, or replace the trinkets on the dining table and do many other random things to ensure the space always had a fresh appeal. My parents didn’t always approve because just as they would get used to a certain thing, it would have been replaced. They disliked the bulky napkin holder I got for the dining table, but it got them so many compliments that they are still using it 10 years later, which is also something I believe you should do while decorating your space—find something that you love which works for a space and let it become the focal point of the area.

Decor affects you more than you think 

Many think home decor is for those who don’t have other pressing matters to attend to. I have a relative who always claims to be too busy to pay attention to her house. She’s good as long as it’s clean and functional. Aesthetics, she says, is the last thing on her mind. Chipping wall paint, dangling cords and wires, and a cluttered dining table makes her space unwelcoming. I want to tell her that a basic organization might help spruce things up but I hold back because who am I to judge her lifestyle choices? I just think she would benefit from a cleaner space. Studies have shown that a tidy, beautiful home makes you calmer and happier. A nice home has many psychological and physical benefits. From making you less anxious and increased productivity to better sleep and fewer allergies, a well kept home has many upsides. 

I always seem to think and feel better when my home is tidy and visually appealing. I tend to clean and decorate when I’m feeling down and it instantly makes me feel better. It’s something my mother does too.

Cost effective decorating

Unlike what most people tend to believe, redecorating your home doesn’t have to be expensive. Initially, it might cost you an arm and a leg but once you have the basics in place, then it’s only a matter of switching out a few pieces every once in a while or adding or removing an item or two depending on your budget and requirements. You shouldn’t aim for a complete makeover. Instead, focus on little things to enhance your space. If you have an open plan area, wallpaper a certain section or create an accent wall to jazz it up. Use large mirrors, either mounted on walls or on stands, at the entryway to create an illusion of space. Use large plants in your living room to bring nature indoors and infuse life in an otherwise concrete setting. There are so many ideas that you can implement that don’t cost much but will go a long way in making your space seem vibrant and stylish. 

I love how a fresh coat of paint can make an old space seem new. You don’t even have to color the walls if that seems too ambitious. You can paint your furniture or ceramic decor pieces. It adds a nice pop of color with minimal money and effort. I also enjoy changing table runners and coffee table decor items. I have a stash of them that I keep rotating according to my mood. It costs nothing and takes but a few minutes but it makes my space come alive once again.

How to own your space

However, the one thing you need to keep in mind while decorating your space is to ensure it’s true to your personality and makes you feel comfortable. Oftentimes, I see people blindly copying trends and styles they see in other homes so much so that their homes become a replica of someone else’s. There has been an instance when my husband’s colleague has copied our style and everything in their home—from their curtains to furniture pieces—looks like ours. I remember this person looking around our home with keen interest, and now it makes sense why. 

While I should be flattered, I’m appalled by people’s lack of ideas. A home isn’t just a space you inhabit. It’s an extension of your personality. The things you bring into it should make you happy and joyful. If you copy someone else’s style, it will never feel like home.

And truth be told, there is no need to copy trends or styles. Reading decor magazines and blogs, watching content on design, and even listening to decor podcasts can arm you with lots of ideas on how to personalize your space. You also need to pay attention to your own likes and comforts. What colors make you happy? Do you like ambient lighting? Or is accent lighting more your thing? How do you feel about open plan spaces? Or do you prefer enclosed cozy rooms? Deciding what you like is the basis of designing a comfortable home that you will love and enjoy.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Nepal presents a fascinating paradox for legal and business scholars. While the nation’s legislative framework, anchored by the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019 (FITTA), signals a commitment to global capital, the practical FDI approval process in Nepal remains complex and, at times, opaque. For a foreign entity seeking to invest, understanding the legal nuances is as critical as identifying a viable business opportunity. Navigating the regulatory landscape requires a meticulous approach to documentation and a clear comprehension of the roles played by various governmental bodies, including the Office of Company Registrar.

The legal framework: Statutory instruments and jurisdictional mandates

The legal foundation for foreign investment in Nepal is principally established by the FITTA, 2019, and the Industrial Enterprises Act, 2020. FITTA broadens the definition of foreign investment beyond traditional equity to include loan investments, re-investment of dividends, lease financing, and investment in venture capital funds. It is designed to be the single-window law for foreign investment, though in practice, other ancillary laws like the Companies Act, 2006, and the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1962, also come into play. A key aspect of FITTA is its jurisdictional delineation. The Department of Industry (DOI) is the primary approving authority for investments up to NPR 6 billion, while the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) handles projects exceeding this threshold. This dual-jurisdiction model is intended to streamline the process by matching the approving body to the scale of the project. However, the requirement for subsequent approvals from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for fund repatriation and foreign loan approvals adds further layers of legal compliance. A savvy law firm in Nepal is essential to help investors interpret these regulations and ensure they are compliant from the very beginning.

FDI approval and company registration in Nepal: A step-by-step procedural blueprint

The FDI process is a sequential journey with distinct legal and administrative milestones. The first and most crucial step is obtaining the foreign investment approval, which is initiated by submitting a comprehensive application to either the DOI or the IBN. This application must include a detailed project report, outlining financial projections, technical feasibility, and the proposed investment amount. Once the investment is approved, the foreign entity proceeds with Company Registration in Nepal at the Office of Company Registrar. This is a critical juncture where the foreign company is formally incorporated as a legal entity in Nepal. The documents required for registration include the foreign company's Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association, and a formal resolution authorizing the investment. Following company registration, the newly formed entity must register with the Inland Revenue Office for tax purposes and, if applicable, with the local ward office. Finally, a crucial step for a foreign investor is to register the foreign investment with the Nepal Rastra Bank, as required by the FITTA, to facilitate future repatriation of profits and capital. The assistance of a specialized Law firm in Nepal is indispensable during these stages to ensure all legal requirements are met and to minimize procedural delays.

Documentation and due diligence: The cornerstone of legal compliance

A successful FDI application in Nepal hinges on the meticulous preparation and submission of a comprehensive set of documents. Legal practitioners emphasize that due diligence is not merely a formality but a non-negotiable prerequisite. The application for foreign investment approval must include, among other things, a notarized copy of the foreign company’s incorporation documents, a letter of commitment from the investor, and a bank-issued Financial Credibility Certificate verifying the investor's financial capability. This certificate is particularly crucial as it provides a legal basis for the financial viability of the project. Furthermore, depending on the nature of the industry, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report may also be required. At the Office of Company Registrar, documents such as the Power of Attorney for a local representative and passport copies of the foreign directors must be submitted. The specific requirements for Company Registration in Nepal can be intricate and vary depending on the type of business vehicle (e.g., private limited company, public company, or branch office). It is here that the expertise of a law firm in Nepal becomes invaluable, as they can navigate the minutiae of these documentary requirements and liaise with the relevant authorities on behalf of the investor.

Statistical analysis and recent trends (2024-2025): A discrepancy between law and reality

A legal framework, however robust in its design, is ultimately judged by its practical outcomes. A review of recent FDI statistics reveals a persistent disparity between the stated legal intent and the actual flow of foreign capital. According to a report by the Nepal Rastra Bank, the FDI stock in Nepal reached Rs 333bn in the fiscal year 2023/24, a 12.7 percent increase from the previous year. While this indicates a growing level of total foreign investment, a more granular analysis shows that net FDI inflows were only Rs 8.4bn for the same period. This suggests that while commitments are being made, the actual injection of funds is a fraction of the approved pledges. For the month of July 2024, FDI inflows were $14.4m, which is a nominal increase compared to the same period in the previous year. However, according to the UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2025, FDI inflows to Nepal experienced a sharp decline in 2024, falling to $57m. This stark contrast between different data sources highlights the volatile nature of FDI in Nepal. For the beginning of the current fiscal year 2025/26 (mid-July to mid-August 2025), preliminary data from the Nepal Rastra Bank shows a foreign direct investment (equity only) of Rs 691.5m. These statistics underscore a critical legal and policy challenge: the legal mechanisms for approval and registration exist, but they are not translating into consistent, large-scale investment.

In conclusion, for foreign investors in Nepal, navigating the legal landscape requires a deep understanding of the FDI approval process in Nepal. While the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act (FITTA) aims to attract foreign capital, persistent procedural hurdles exist, creating a gap between investment commitments and actual inflows. To ensure success, investors must meticulously handle documentation at the Office of Company Registrar and seek guidance from a specialized law firm in Nepal. The government's continued reform efforts to streamline inter-agency coordination are crucial. Ultimately, transforming Nepal into a regional investment hub depends on addressing these regulatory inefficiencies to build investor confidence and turn the country's potential into a profitable reality.

Prabin Kumar Yadav

Kathmandu School of Law