Foreign Degree Equivalence in Nepal (UGC/TU Samakakshyata): Full Guide

Equivalence, called samakakshyata in Nepali, is the official process by which a designated Nepali authority certifies that a foreign academic qualification is equal to a specific Nepali credential — for example, that a British A-Level is equal to Nepal's Grade 12, or that an Indian B.Tech is equal to a Tribhuvan University bachelor's degree. Without this certificate, a foreign qualification has no formal standing in Nepal's public systems.

You will be asked for an equivalence certificate in three common situations. First, when you apply for admission to a Nepali college or university with a foreign lower qualification. Second, when you sit the Public Service Commission (Lok Sewa Aayog) exams or apply for government and semi-government jobs. Third, when you register with a professional council (such as the Nepal Engineering Council, Nepal Medical Council or Nepal Bar Council) that requires proof your degree is recognised in Nepal.

The certificate does two things at once: it recognises that the awarding institution and programme are legitimate, and it maps the foreign credential onto the Nepali academic ladder (Grade 10 / SEE, Grade 12, diploma, bachelor, master, MPhil, PhD). Because different bodies own different rungs of that ladder, the single most important step is sending your application to the correct authority for your level.

Nepal splits equivalence by education level across separate bodies, and applying to the wrong one is the most common reason files are rejected. School-level and technical-diploma equivalence sit with the school system, while university degrees sit with the higher-education system.

For school qualifications — Grade 10 (SEE/SLC equivalent), Grade 12 (+2 equivalent), Cambridge/Edexcel A-Levels, IGCSE, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and foreign boards such as CBSE/ISC — the authority is the Curriculum Development Centre under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoECDC), based at Sanothimi, Bhaktapur. For technical and vocational diplomas and pre-diploma (PCL-level technical) qualifications, the authority is the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), also at Sanothimi.

For university degrees — bachelor's, master's, MPhil and PhD from foreign universities — equivalence has historically been determined by Tribhuvan University's Curriculum Development Centre (TU CDC) at Kirtipur, acting under the TU Rector's Office. This is the process most returning graduates mean when they say tu talab (TU equivalence) or samakakshyata. Note the important 2026 change described below, which moves degree equivalence to the University Grants Commission.

Students returning with foreign secondary results — A-Levels, IB, IGCSE or an Indian/other national board — need an equivalence (often called the NEB equivalence certificate or Letter of Recognition and Equivalency, LOE) before they can enrol in a Nepali bachelor's programme or apply for jobs that require +2. The Curriculum Development Centre under the Ministry of Education issues this at Sanothimi, and since 2079 BS (2022 AD) applications are filed online through the ministry's LOE portal, with scanned copies of all original certificates uploaded.

Board-specific rules apply. For Cambridge/Edexcel A-Levels, the applicant must have passed Advanced Level in at least three subjects in the final examination to be treated as equivalent to Grade 12. For the International Baccalaureate, the IB Diploma must show a minimum of 24 grade points on the grade sheet. Results that cannot be checked online generally need verification by the relevant embassy, government agency or a police clearance, so build extra time in for overseas verification.

The certificate maps your foreign result to the National Examinations Board (NEB) Grade 12 or to Grade 10, and it is this mapping that colleges and employers accept. Because rules for individual boards and for newly recognised boards are updated periodically, confirm the current subject requirements and document list on the ministry's official equivalence portal before you apply.

Foreign technical and vocational diplomas — engineering, health sciences, agriculture and similar — are equated by the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) rather than the university or the school board. Applications are submitted in person to the CTEVT Curriculum Division at Sanothimi, where an officer verifies the file against your original documents.

For a foreign diploma you typically need the transcript, the marksheet of every semester or year, a character or transfer certificate, a copy of the affiliation document linking your college to its university or board, and a passport and visa copy if you studied anywhere other than India. For engineering diplomas, an approved profile of the project work is usually required. All copies must be notarised and arranged in a file, and you must carry the originals for verification.

A key restriction is that CTEVT does not grant equivalence to diplomas earned through open universities or distance-education modes. If your programme was delivered by distance or online learning, check eligibility with CTEVT before you travel, because the file will otherwise be refused at the counter.

Bachelor's, master's and higher degrees from foreign universities have been determined by Tribhuvan University's Curriculum Development Centre under the Equivalence Directive, 2078 BS. TU CDC checks that the awarding university and programme are recognised, then issues a letter stating the Nepali level the degree is equal to. Since the process moved online, applicants register on the TU CDC website, upload notarised documents, and collect the physical certificate in person after approval.

Following reforms approved by the TU Executive Council, the process was simplified for reputable institutions: for universities ranked within the top 500 of the Times Higher Education world rankings, admission eligibility, duration of study, credit hours and course load were removed as obstacles to equivalence, and some Schedule-2 requirements were scrapped. Universities that already operate legally inside Nepal no longer need separate TU equivalence for their own degrees.

Restrictions remain. Online and distance-learning qualifications in technical fields — science, technology, engineering, medicine, agriculture, forestry and IT — are generally not accepted, and MPhil or PhD degrees obtained purely through open and distance-learning modes are excluded. Because criteria are revised periodically, verify the current directive and the recognised-university list before applying, especially for less common awarding bodies.

In August 2025 (2082 BS) Nepal amended the University Grants Commission Act, 1993, adding the determination of equivalence of degrees awarded by foreign universities to the UGC's statutory duties. The revised law was authenticated by the President and published in the Nepal Gazette, shifting university-degree equivalence away from Tribhuvan University to the UGC, which will also oversee credit transfer and quality assurance and accreditation of higher-education institutions.

UGC has indicated it will begin issuing equivalency certificates from around mid-July 2026 (reported as 17 July 2026, roughly the start of Shrawan 2083 BS). Certificates already issued by Tribhuvan University before that date are stated to remain valid, so graduates who obtained TU equivalence earlier are not expected to reapply. UGC is also required to publish updated lists of recognised degrees and institutions every six months to improve transparency and consistency.

The reform responds to long-standing complaints that TU's determinations were inconsistent and opaque. In practice this means anyone starting a new university-degree equivalence around or after mid-2026 should check the UGC (ugcnepal.edu.np) for the current portal, guidelines and recognised-institution lists, rather than assuming the TU CDC process still applies. School-level (MoECDC) and diploma-level (CTEVT) equivalence are separate and are not affected by this specific change.

Fees are modest but vary by level and by whether your awarding board is already on the recognised list. Indicatively, school-level equivalence at MoECDC has been around NPR 1,000 (with a higher figure of about NPR 1,500 for newly recognised boards); CTEVT diploma equivalence has ranged from about NPR 50 for CTEVT-affiliated documents up to around NPR 1,000 for foreign boards; and TU university-degree equivalence has been about NPR 1,000 for a regular case and up to around NPR 4,000 for a newly recognised board or university. Treat these as indicative and confirm the current schedule with the relevant office, as fees are revised periodically.

Timelines depend on the authority and on how quickly your foreign documents can be verified. School-level cases have often been decided quickly — sometimes the same day — while TU degree equivalence was commonly around three working days once the file was complete. Cases needing embassy or overseas verification, or referral to an academic committee for an unfamiliar institution, take longer, so apply well before any job, licence or admission deadline.

To avoid delays, apply only after you hold all your original certificates and transcripts, get copies notarised, and keep a passport/visa or residence-permit copy ready if you studied outside Nepal or India. Carry originals for verification even when the first step is online. Finally, confirm the authority for your exact level before you start — the wrong desk is the most common cause of a rejected file.