Consultancies and students on thin line amid COVID

As the COVID cases are increasing in Nepal and if the situation does not get better there's a good probability the valley may be placed under lockdown once more. From the tourism department to educational institutions have been severely impacted by previous lockdowns not just in the valley but across the nation. 

And with the fear of COVID growing, the owners of consultancies are also facing a lot of difficulties and so are the students. According to Sohit Subedi, who runs a Japanese Consultancy, things were finally looking a little better but then the third wave hit again. “I was living in Japan for almost 3-4 years. I came back to Nepal because of some family problems but now I’m stuck here and couldn't go back,” says Subedi.

“Since the COVID cases is rapidly increasing day by day, the Japanese border is also closed”, he adds. “In Nepal, I am running a Japanese Consultancy, but the business has been on hold for far too long”, he adds. 

Covid has played a vital role in many lives. While some are forced to close the companies since they couldn’t raise the money on time from the students, there are others hanging on a thin line. Due to the situation there are good chances that the consultancies may not be able to pay the salary of staff or pay the rent. And talking about bad situations it is not just the companies but students are also going through hard times. 

Subedi says that, “If the lockdown takes place again, I’ll have to be at home all day. Besides that I don’t have any option.”

Students are left to fend for themselves due to COVID. Even after finishing the language classes, they are not able to go abroad. Krishna Mahat, who is currently learning Japanese language, said that, “My language classes are still running and only a few days are left for it to be over. After that I was planning to apply to Japan for my masters, but that may take time due to the new variant ‘Omicron’.”

“If the nation goes in lockdown again, I don’t know what my future will be like. I am working and learning but if the lockdown takes place again, I would neither be able to go abroad or have a job,” he says. 

Due to the lockdown, students' studies are at halt, and consultancies are in a dilemma on what to do now. Students are left in confusion on whether to join masters in Nepal or to wait for their visas for Japan.