KATHMANDU: Alfa Beta, one of the leading educational consultancies in Nepal, is working with about 10 different countries around the world, including America, Australia, India and Canada, to provide Nepali students with quality education. They help students prepare for several tests like GMAT, IELTS and TOEFL, among others. Since 2014, the consultancy has also been the only authorized agent of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Beppu, Japan.
"Our work ethics, process of choosing quality students, amiable staff matched the pre-requisites of the agency APU was looking for and hence, our quintessential relationship was formed," said Chairperson of Alfa Beta, Dhwiraj Sharma.
Awards to Chinese Scholarship Recipients
APU is a private institution located in the southern island of Kyushu in Beppu. The university provides programs like International Management (APM), which includes Accounting and Finance, Marketing, Strategic Management and Organization, and Innovation and Economics as well as Asia Pacific Studies (APS), which include Environment and Development, Hospitality and Tourism, International Relations, and Culture, Society and Media. The university is accredited by AACSP and provides classes in English and Japanese.
The university enrolls students twice a year -- in fall and spring. The annual fee is about 1.2 million yen, for which they have the APU Tuition Reduction Scholarship. The scholarship provides students opportunities to reduce their fair by 30 percent, 50 percent, 65 percent, 80 percent and even a 100 percent. Scholarships are provided after fair observation of the applicants' essays, transcript, language proficiency test scores, needs, extra-curricular activities as well as a vital interview. Although there are no strict criteria of percentage for the admission, students’ GPA does affect the scholarship.
The university also provides exchange programs for students to countries like Germany and United Kingdom, funded by the university itself. About 13 to 15 Nepali students are being enrolled every semester and the university has a total of 50.3 percent international students from 90 different countries and regions.
Marisa Tsuruyo Mew Lan Au, a graduate of APU, now a spokesperson of the university, said students must live in their college dormitories for the first year and take up a Basic Japanese Language Course, while they can live independently from the second year.
"Students can also work for 40 hours per week during breaks and 28 hours per week during terms at the university libraries, on campus cafeterias and in hotels or restaurants off campus," she said adding, "I would suggest studying in Japan because the demand of international students is increasing there. The gap created because of the declination of the number of active population is causing Japan to utilize international workers and their skills fully. Also, Japan is longing to expand the Japanese business internationally on local levels which is a great opportunity for the international students."
"Our university has a 94 percent rate of employing the students before graduation, and helps like mock interviews, preparation of cover letters and resumes and several other supports are provided to not let the quality of the students degrade," Tsuruyo added.
