The number of students leaving overseas for studies this year came down by three-fold compared to previous year. According to the Ministry of Education, in seven months of previous fiscal year, 23,185 students had sought permission (No Objection Letter) to go overseas. The number during the same period this year has come down to 7471. Previous year, the number of students had shot up after the UK government eased student visa process. This year none of the foreign governments have announced such easy schemes. The data at the Ministry show that Nepali students go to as many as 45 different countries for studies.