The figures from the EPS section show 26,855 people applied for the test from five form collection centres in Kathmandu and 24,644 from five other centres outside the Capital. Unlike last year, the application collection process this year saw no managerial hassles as three additional collection centers have been added. "We made some changes to the internal management to handle the crowd and were able to convince youths that submitting forms on the first day doesn't increase probability of selection under EPS," added Bastola. Last year, Police had to resort to baton-charge to manage the crowds at some collection centers. This is will the sixth TOPIK after Nepal and Korea agreed on EPS for recruiting Nepali workers. Officials pointed to a number of reasons, including the exam date that clashes with academic exams, for fewer applications compared to last year.
