Can an engineering programme be cancelled for the year if too few students enrol?

At IOE constituent campuses, yes. If the Full Fee and sponsored quota of a programme is not filled to 60% within the first three lists, the campus may suspend it for that year and must refund admission fees in full.

This is a published provision and almost nobody knows it exists. It applies to constituent campuses, and it cuts both ways: it protects your money and it means a programme you were counting on can not run.

The provision

For a constituent campus, if within the first-phase admission programme — that is, the first, second and third lists — the Full Fee and sponsored quota of any programme is not filled to 60%, the campus may suspend that programme for that year. Where that happens, admission fees must be refunded in full.

What it means practically

• A small intake is not just a quiet classroom. At a constituent campus it can mean the programme does not run.
• Your admission fee comes back in full in that case, which is a better term than the ordinary cancellation ladder gives you.
• The 60% test is measured on the Full Fee and sponsored quota, not on the Regular seats.

It does not automatically apply to private colleges

The clause sits in the constituent-campus section of the booklet. A TU-affiliated private college is not covered by it, so if you are enrolling at one and the cohort looks thin, do not assume a full refund exists. Ask what happens if the programme does not run, ask for the answer in writing, and ask before you pay.

Section 2.7 of the booklet, page 11. This is a "may", not a "must" — the decision rests with the campus.

Last reviewed 18 August 2026 by Ram Raj Thapa, Admissions Officer, Imperial College of Engineering. Every figure on this page is cited to the document it came from.

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Related answers

• What happens to my fee if I cancel my IOE admission?

  Before classes start, 10% of the total fee or Rs 15,000 is deducted, whichever is less. Within seven days of classes starting it is 25% or Rs 35,000, whichever is less. After that, nothing is refunded at all.

• What is the difference between an IOE Regular and Full Fee seat?

  Regular seats are heavily subsidised and allocated on merit; Full Fee seats cost roughly nine times as much for the same degree. They are separate seat pools with separate counts.

• Which are the IOE constituent campuses?

  Five: Pulchowk in Lalitpur, Thapathali in Kathmandu, Purwanchal in Dharan, Paschimanchal in Pokhara, and Chitwan Engineering Campus at Rampur.