Kathmandu  May 18- The test for Korean language under the employment permit system (EPS) scheduled for this month was cancelled due to the risk of coronavirus pandemic. Although the test was stopped, the South Korea government has said it has made preparation to bring the youths, who were preparing for the tests, to Korea by making them sit in the online test, Nepal based EPS Korea’s HRD chief Park Hee Sung said in a meeting of the Department of Employment here on Tuesday.

According to him, although the Test for Korean Language that was to be held in June as per the schedule has been postponed due to COVID-19, the test can be conducted online. Workers from 16 countries have come for employment in South Korea after passing the language test given under the EPS. Nepal is also among these 16 countries.

More than 40,000 Nepali youths are employed here in Korea under this system. Every year, around 7,000 Nepali youths have been directly coming for work in South Korea. This year also the South Korean government had allocated 7,000 seats to Nepal. It was uncertain when the Korean language tests under EPS would take place after the Government of Nepal announced lockdown on March 14 to prevent coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The Korean government’s decision to take youths for employment subjecting them to online language test has come as a positive news for thousand of Nepali youths aspiring to work in Korea. Meanwhile, schools have reopened here in South Korea. The schools had been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The South Korean government has decided to reopen schools after some abatement of the pandemic. The secondary level schools are opening from today in the first phase while the pre-primary level classes will operate from June 8.