Kathmandu, March 15 -- As many as 2,000 students apply for the No Objection Certificates in peak days. However, the maximum number of applications the office under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology clears in a day is around 1,000, even with the officials working 10 to 12 hours. As a result, thousands of applications pile up, leaving students to queue up for hours, sometimes for multiple days.

The ministry's reluctance to address the problems facing the office issuing the certificates led to its chief Shanti Ram Poudel, an undersecretary, resigning on Wednesday. On Thursday, the ministry secretary approved his resignation, saying he would not backtrack.

"Students accused me of failing to work promptly but my concerns with...