Kathmandu, Aug. 21 -- The classrooms that once drew aspiring reporters from across Nepal are falling quiet. Fewer students are choosing journalism, a sign of growing troubles in the country's media industry.

At Janapremi World School in Bhaktapur, journalism was once one of the college's defining programmes. Since it began offering journalism at the plus-two level in 2009, students from 57 districts have studied there. At its peak, 76 students enrolled in a single batch.

Many alumni went on to work in mainstream media. But the programme has not admitted a new student for four years.

"We ran the programme even when there were only 19 students in the last batch," said Nilesh Acharya, principal of Janapremi World School. "But as the stude...