In 2079, a total of 1,17,563 people have taken the Foreign Study Permit (NOC) for studying abroad. Students have taken NOC in order to study 56 subjects in 72 different countries.
The Foreign Study Permit Division provided information that the NOCs of 17,775 individuals who had previously applied for NOCs were cancelled because their initial NOCs were cancelled when they applied for a second time.
| Year | Total |
| 2079 | 1,17,563 |
| 2078 | 1,14,134 |
| 2077 | 27,978 |
| 2076 | 4,094 |
| 2075 | 56,259 |
| 2074 | 58,758 |
| 2073 | 50,659 |
| 2072 | 32,489 |
A total of 50,742 people have applied for Australia, while 20,003 people applied for Japan and 16,716 for Canada. Similarly, 8,707 people have taken NOC for United Kingdom, 5,082 for America and 2,225 for South Korea.
The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology's annual progress report states that during the fiscal year 2078, there were 119,300 applications for foreign study permits. Out of those, 114,134 students were approved for study permits, and 5,166 students who did not complete the process had their permits cancelled.
Similarly, in the 2077-78 year, a total of 27,978 individuals obtained NOCs according to branch data after NOC applications were opened. The government ceased issuing NOCs from February 2076-77 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, during that period, 34,094 people obtained NOCs. In the 2075-76 fiscal year, 53,259 people, in 2074-75, 56,758 people, in 2073-74, 50,659 people, and in the 2072-73 fiscal year, 32,489 people were found to have obtained NOCs.
According to NOC branch head, Basudev Basti, the main reason behind students going abroad is the lack of opportunity to get higher level education in Nepal.
