CTEVT Nepal (2026) Admission, Courses, Eligibility and Career Scope

Last updated: 5 July 2026

CTEVT is Nepal’s main body for technical and vocational training. It offers diploma and pre diploma courses in engineering, health, agriculture, IT, and hospitality that students can join right after their SEE results. As of 2025 there is no entrance exam anymore. Admission is based purely on your SEE GPA. Most diploma programs take 3 years and the minimum GPA needed is 1.6 for non health programs and 2.0 for health programs. Whether CTEVT is the right choice for you depends on whether you want practical skills and a faster path to a job, or whether you are planning to go to university for a traditional bachelor’s degree first.

After you check your SEE result, use our NEB GPA calculator to see exactly where your GPA stands before choosing a CTEVT program.

What Is CTEVT in Nepal?

CTEVT stands for the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training. It was set up by the Nepal government in 1989. It is the main national body that runs and manages technical and vocational education across the country. Its job is to create skilled technical workers who can go directly into jobs in Nepal or abroad.

CTEVT makes the curriculum for all its courses, sets the quality standards, and runs the exams. The Minister of Education chairs its governing board. It works through around 63 government run campuses and more than 400 affiliated colleges spread across all provinces of Nepal. So no matter where you live in Nepal, there is likely a CTEVT college near you.

The vision of CTEVT is literally Skilling Nepal for People’s Prosperity. About 60 to 70 percent of study time in most CTEVT programs is practical work, labs, workshops, or on the job training. This makes it very different from the academic (+2) class 12 route where most of the learning is in classrooms and books.

CTEVT qualifications are recognized by the Government of Nepal and by the Public Service Commission. That means CTEVT diploma holders can apply for government technical jobs. Many CTEVT graduates also go abroad for work and their certificates are accepted after evaluation in countries like the USA and Canada.

Why Choose CTEVT After SEE?

CTEVT makes sense for students who want to start working sooner rather than spending years in university first. Here is the honest picture.

After completing SEE you can join a CTEVT program and finish a full diploma in 3 years. By the time your friends who went the (+2) class 12 plus bachelor’s route are still studying, you could already be working and earning.

The Public Service Commission has thousands of technical level 5 and level 4 vacancies that are only open to CTEVT diploma and pre diploma graduates in their specific technical fields. Since competition for these posts is limited to people in that field, your chances of getting selected are genuinely higher than in general open competitions.

The practical nature of the training means you graduate with real skills that employers want. A tracer study of CTEVT graduates found that about 75 percent of diploma and pre diploma graduates found employment or continued further education shortly after finishing. For automobile engineering specifically the employment rate reached 78 percent.

CTEVT is also generally more affordable than private (+2) class 12 colleges. Government run constituent campuses charge much lower fees, and there are scholarships available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

For students who are not sure about university or who want to start earning sooner, CTEVT is a genuine and respected path. And if you later decide you want to pursue a bachelor’s degree, most universities in Nepal allow CTEVT diploma holders to join related bachelor’s programs, sometimes with credit for the work you already did.

To explore a more detailed comparison of these two paths, you can read our guide on CTEVT vs (+2) class 12 in Nepal, which is better after SEE.

CTEVT Courses Available in Nepal

CTEVT offers programs at two main levels for students coming after SEE. Diploma programs that take 3 years and pre diploma programs that take around 18 months.

The diploma level programs are the main CTEVT route. In engineering you can choose Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, Architecture, Geomatics, Hydropower, Automobile Engineering, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, and several others.

In health and medical science you can study PCL Nursing to become a Staff Nurse, Health Assistant which is also called General Medicine or HA, Medical Laboratory Technology, Radiography, Pharmacy, Dental Science, Ophthalmic Science, Physiotherapy, and more.

In agriculture there are programs in Plant Science, Animal Science, and Food and Dairy Technology.

In hospitality and services there are programs in Hotel Management, Forestry, Social Work, and Culinary Arts.

The pre diploma level programs, which used to be called TSLC, run for around 18 months. These include things like Junior Technical Assistant in agriculture, sub overseer programs in civil and electrical engineering, ANM which stands for Auxiliary Nurse Midwife, and programs in water supply, sanitation, and computer applications.

CTEVT also runs hundreds of short term trade courses lasting anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. These include welding, plumbing, tailoring, electrical work, carpentry, bakery, food processing, and tourism skills.

For a deep guide on the most useful programs, careers they lead to, and higher study options after each course, you can read our guide on best CTEVT courses in Nepal.

Eligibility for CTEVT Admission

For diploma and certificate programs at CTEVT, the minimum you need is a passed SEE result. But the GPA threshold is different depending on what you want to study.

For health programs like Nursing, Health Assistant, Medical Lab Technology, and Pharmacy, you need a minimum GPA of 2.0 in SEE. You also need at least C grade in English, Mathematics, and Science in your SEE results.

For non health programs like engineering, IT, agriculture, hotel management, and others, the minimum is GPA 1.6. For these programs you need at least C grade in Mathematics and Science and at least D grade in English.

For pre diploma programs, you only need to have appeared in SEE and received your grade sheet. Passing SEE is often enough for entry into these shorter courses.

There is one more condition to note. Students must not have NG or Non Graded result in any subject. If you have NG in a subject, it means that subject is not cleared and you may not meet the eligibility requirements.

Students who have passed a related Technical School Leaving Certificate or pre diploma from CTEVT with at least 68.33 percent total may also be eligible to join some diploma programs through lateral entry.

If you studied under a foreign board or any board other than NEB, you need to get an equivalency certificate from the relevant authority before applying.

There is no age limit for CTEVT admission. Older applicants are actually given priority in tie breaking situations.

CTEVT Admission Process

As of 2025 CTEVT removed all entrance exams. You no longer need to prepare for a separate test just to get into CTEVT. Admissions are now purely based on your SEE GPA.

The process starts after SEE results are published. CTEVT issues a centralized admission notice on its official website and in media. This notice lists all participating programs and institutes. Affiliated colleges can start admissions as early as the day after SEE results are published.

You apply online through CTEVT’s Integrated Training Management System which is called ITMS. If you do not have internet access at home, most institutes have help desks where staff can assist you in filling out the form.

You select the program you want and the institute you prefer. You submit your SEE marksheet, SEE certificate, character certificate, citizenship or birth certificate, and passport size photos along with the application. If you are applying under a quota or reserved category like Dalit, remote area, or disabled, you also need to bring the relevant certificate from the right authority.

Applications are usually collected for about 15 days after the admission notice is published. Then institutes prepare the merit list within about 3 days. Admissions are completed within about 10 days after that. If any seats remain unclaimed, they are offered to the next students on the waiting list.

For the full detailed breakdown of the admission process, fees, scholarship application steps, and important deadlines, you can read our complete guide on CTEVT admission in Nepal.

Merit List and Selection Process

Since there is no entrance exam, the CTEVT merit list is based entirely on your SEE GPA with some adjustments added on top.

Students from government or community schools get an extra 1.0 grade point added to their SEE GPA. Students from private or institutional schools get 0.85 grade point added. This bonus is meant to level the playing field between students who studied in government schools versus better resourced private schools.

After adding the bonus, everyone is ranked from highest to lowest. Students with the highest combined scores get the first pick of programs and institutes. Each program and each institute has its own merit list showing who has been selected and who is on the waiting list.

When two students end up with exactly the same combined score, the tie is broken by looking at their subject wise SEE grades. First the one with higher Mathematics GPA wins. If still tied, Science GPA is compared next. Then English. If the tie still remains, the student from a more remote or disadvantaged area gets priority. If still tied, the older student wins.

The merit list is published separately for scholarship seats and for full fee seats. Students eligible for classified scholarships based on their background appear on the scholarship list. General seats go to everyone on the regular merit list.

Once your name appears on the merit list for your chosen program, you need to confirm your seat quickly by reporting to the institute and completing enrollment before the deadline.

For full details on how results are published and how to check your result and status, you can read our guide on how to check CTEVT result online.

Fees and Scholarships

CTEVT has published official fee structures for three specific health programs. For PCL Nursing the total program fee is NPR 624,230 which works out to about NPR 208,000 per year. For Health Assistant the total is NPR 523,820. For Diploma in Pharmacy the total is NPR 423,660.

For all other programs the fees vary by institute. Government run constituent campuses charge much lower fees than affiliated private colleges. As a rough guide, a registration fee of NPR 2,500 applies for diploma level programs. Exam fees are NPR 500 per semester for students at constituent schools and NPR 1,000 for students at affiliated colleges.

CTEVT offers three types of scholarships. The classified scholarship is for students from disadvantaged backgrounds including women, Dalit, Janajati, conflict victims, freed Kamaiya, and students from government schools with low income. Each institute sets aside a specific number of free seats per program. For a batch of 30 students there are 2 classified scholarship seats. For a batch of 40 there are 3. For a batch of 48 there are 4. These students pay no tuition at all.

The merit scholarship is awarded to the top scoring admitted student in each program at each institute for the first year. In year 2 and year 3 the award is based on academic performance in the previous year. Only one student per program per institute gets this scholarship.

The special program is a government backed scheme where 500 students from Dalit, Muslim, and remote area communities are selected through a separate application each year and receive a complete fee waiver plus free hostel and meals. Students selected under this program also receive a monthly subsistence allowance of NPR 3,500, NPR 1,500 per year for transport, and NPR 2,500 per year for a uniform.

Nepal’s constitutional 45 percent reservation policy also applies to CTEVT. This means women, Janajati, Madhesi, Dalit, remote area students, disabled students, and Muslim women all have reserved seats as part of the standard admission quota across all institutions.

All scholarship and fee amounts can change each year. Always confirm the current figures from the official CTEVT website at ctevt.org.np before applying.

Career Opportunities After CTEVT

CTEVT graduates enter the job market with practical skills that employers actually need. The career options are wide and genuinely useful.

Engineering diploma holders become junior engineers, site supervisors, technical officers, draftsmen, and machine operators in construction, manufacturing, electricity, water, and telecom. Nepal’s infrastructure growth means there is steady demand for civil and electrical technicians at all levels.

Health diploma holders including Staff Nurses, Health Assistants, Lab Technicians, and Pharmacists work in government hospitals, private clinics, laboratories, and community health posts. Health graduates are also highly sought for jobs in the Middle East and other countries abroad where Nepali health workers are well respected.

IT and computer diploma graduates work in IT support, computer repair, web development, and networking. Nepal’s ICT sector is growing at around 21 percent per year which means genuine demand for technical IT workers.

Hotel management and hospitality diploma graduates work in hotels, restaurants, and tourism companies. Nepal’s tourism sector is one of the fastest growing parts of the economy.

Agriculture diploma holders work in farming extension, animal science, dairy, food processing, and forestry.

Beyond employment, many CTEVT graduates start their own small businesses. A welder might open a fabrication shop. A computer technician might start a repair service. A health graduate might open a clinic in a rural area. Entrepreneurship is a real and common outcome for CTEVT graduates.

Entry level monthly salaries for CTEVT graduates in Nepal typically range from NPR 20,000 to NPR 35,000 depending on the field and employer. Graduates who go abroad to work, particularly in health or construction, can earn significantly more.

Can You Study a Bachelor’s Degree After CTEVT?

Yes. CTEVT diploma holders can join related bachelor’s programs at various universities in Nepal.

For nursing graduates, the common path is Post Basic Nursing which is a 3 year program available at TU and other universities. For engineering graduates, many engineering colleges allow CTEVT diploma holders to join a Bachelor of Engineering program. Sometimes they can join in the second year directly through what is called lateral entry, though this depends on the specific university and program. For agriculture graduates, bachelor’s programs in Agriculture and Veterinary Science are options. For computer and IT graduates, BCA or BSc Computer Science programs are available options.

Some credit transfer may apply from your diploma to the bachelor’s program, meaning you might not have to repeat subjects you already covered. But this depends completely on the university. Some universities are flexible about this and others are not.

The CTEVT diploma is generally considered equivalent to (+2) class 12 for the purpose of applying for related bachelor’s programs. Universities that use the CTEVT diploma equivalency typically look at it as equivalent to (+2) class 12 in the related technical stream.

For international recognition, CTEVT certificates are accepted for credential evaluation in countries like the USA and Canada through agencies like WES, usually recognized as a high school diploma equivalency or associate degree equivalency.

Always check directly with the university you want to join about their specific requirements for CTEVT diploma holders. Rules vary and can change.

CTEVT vs (+2) class 12, Which Is Better?

There is no simple answer to this. It genuinely depends on what you want to do with your life.

Choose CTEVT if you want practical hands on skills and want to start working sooner. Choose CTEVT if you are interested in a technical field like engineering, health, IT, or hospitality and want focused training rather than general academic study. Choose CTEVT if budget is a concern because government CTEVT campuses are much cheaper than private (+2) class 12 colleges. Choose CTEVT if you want access to government technical vacancies that specifically hire at the CTEVT diploma level.

Choose (+2) class 12 if you are aiming for a traditional university degree in a competitive professional field like MBBS, BDS, or a top engineering program through IOE. Choose (+2) class 12 if you are not yet sure which technical field you want to specialize in. Choose (+2) class 12 if your family strongly prefers the university route and you are planning to go to university anyway.

Some students do both. They complete a CTEVT diploma, start working, and then join a related bachelor’s program later. This hybrid approach gives you practical work experience before entering university which often makes the university experience more meaningful and job hunting afterward much easier.

The idea that CTEVT is for weaker students is an old and outdated perception. Nepal’s labor market increasingly values skilled technical workers and CTEVT diploma holders are often hired faster and sometimes earn more at entry level than fresh arts or management bachelor’s graduates.

For a detailed side by side comparison of both paths covering admissions, cost, career outcomes, and what suits different students, you can read our complete guide on CTEVT vs (+2) class 12 in Nepal, which is better after SEE.

Frequently Asked Questions