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Riaz Haq writes this blog to provide information, express his opinions and make comments on wide ranging topics.The subjects include personal activities, education, South Asia and South Asian community activities, regional and international affairs and US politics to financial markets and beyond. For investors interested in South Asia, Riaz has another blog called South Asia Investor at http://southasiainvestor.blogspot.com
Friday, October 21, 2011
Higher Education: Pakistani Students Abroad
As the number of Pakistani students in the United States has declined from a peak of 8,644 students (ranked 13th) in 2001-02 to 5,222 in 2009-10 (ranked 23rd), English-speaking OECD nations of the United Kingdom and Australia have become the biggest beneficiaries getting increasing market share of the Pakistan education market. Both nations have benefited in spite of the fact that the UK and Australian visa rejection rates for Pakistanis are higher than for students from other nations.
A recent British Council report says that 9,815 Pakistani students (Source: HESA) put Pakistan among one of the top six countries which account for 54 percent of the UK's (non-EU) international students. Since September 2001, it has become the market leader, a place previously held by the US. In addition to Canada in North America, several Northern European countries, including Sweden and Finland, have also become quite active in marketing their education in Pakistan. As a result, these nations are attracting thousands of Pakistani students to their universities.
There is also an upward trend in Pakistani students studying in Australia. 8,458 Pakistani students studied in Australia in 2009/2010, increase of 11/4% over 2008/2009 (Source: AEI).
The US is beginning to pick up more of the Pakistani education market share after a significant decline since 911, with its simplified visa procedures and increased marketing efforts, and the excellent scholarship opportunities that they have to offer Pakistani students. Pakistan now has the world's largest Fulbright Scholarship Program with over 200 scholarships offered to Pakistani students for advanced degrees in 2011.
Beyond the traditional destinations in OECD nations, newly industrialized countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are more visible in Pakistan and perceived as offering quality education at lower prices.
Pakistanis take education seriously. They spend more time in schools and colleges and graduate at a higher rates than their Indian counterparts in 15+ age group, according to a report on educational achievement by Harvard University researchers Robert Barro and Jong-Wha Lee.
With rising urban middle class, there is substantial and growing demand in Pakistan from students, parents and employers for private quality higher education along with a willingness and capacity to pay relatively high tuition and fees, according to the findings of Austrade, an Australian govt agency promoting trade. Private institutions are seeking affiliations with universities abroad to ensure they offer information and training that is of international standards.
Trans-national education (TNE) is a growing market in Pakistan and recent data shows evidence of over 40 such programs running successfully in affiliation with British universities at undergraduate and graduate level, according to The British Council. Overall, the UK takes about 65 per cent of the TNE market in Pakistan.
Related Links:
Haq's Musings
Pakistani Graduation Rate Higher Than India's
India and Pakistan Contrasted in 2011
Educational Attainment Dataset By Robert Barro and Jong-Wha Lee
Quality of Higher Education in India and Pakistan
Developing Pakistan's Intellectual Capital
Intellectual Wealth of Nations
Pakistan's Story After 64 Years of Independence
Pakistan Ahead of India on Key Human Development Indices
Scholarships at Foreign Universities
Institute of International Education--Open Doors
UK's Higher Education Statistics Agency Report
Austrade on Education in Pakistan
33 comments:
Riaz, please don't tell me this too is something that you're proud of. There was a recent article in the New York Times about Indian students moving to the US by the droves for higher education because cut off levels in good Indian colleges are so high. This is a loss for India because this need for quality higher education should be fulfilled ideally within India itself...most of these Western educated students never return back to their homelands, which is another big loss and the classic "brain drain" in action: a good (Pakistani) example of such brain drain in action is the highly educated Riaz Haq himself. Truly a big loss for poor countries like India and Pakistan. What is amazing is that you're holding all this up like a badge of honour.
- October 22, 2011 at 8:36 AM
vicks1980, you are also forgetting that this brain drain of india also help set up india's awesome reputation in west. So many of them returned back to India and helped run indian IT companies for western companies.
Tech companies have "return to India". it is meant for their employees of Indian origin who would like to go back to india and work in their indian office.
Texas instrument
has thousands of indians returning back.
The trouble with Pakistan is that it is such a hopeless situation that no one would go back to Pak. In India's case, given their large numbers in West, even if 10-20% return they will benefit.
- October 22, 2011 at 8:44 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
vicks: "Truly a big loss for poor countries like India and Pakistan."
Not necessarily.
Many of these students do return home and contribute to their home countries. Some examples in Pakistan include a Wharton grad Haris Anwar as central bank governor, Monis Rahman (Stanford) an entrepreneur head of Rozee.pk, professors such as Dr. Hoodbhoy (MIT), Dr. Ishrat Hussain (BU), etc.
And those who don't also help in various ways ranging from providing valuable services to their nations while abroad such as advice, lectures as visiting scholars, and bringing money, capital and expertise for development.
- October 22, 2011 at 9:47 AM
- Zachary Latif said...
The "brain drain" effects is often exagerrated to my mind. In fact it is good for nations to have diasporas; the right trade is to move to a country where the per capita is 20-30x higher (nominally and also sometimes ppp adjusted)
- October 23, 2011 at 9:57 AM
- satwa gunam said...
An interesting aspect which i have observed personally is that country like singapore which wants talented people into their economy go and pickup the best of the students from india YOY, providing complete scholarship for studies and boarding. Only condition for the student is to work for a singapore firm for nearly 6 years as compensation to their economy
- October 24, 2011 at 7:25 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an excerpt from an Op Ed in Express Tribune about Pakistan's "demographic dividend":
Pakistan has a rare opportunity to capitalise on its population bulge, fast turning into a 'youth bulge'. It is faced with a demographic transition whereby the size of the working age population (15-64 years) will expand to occupy a larger share of the total population. This is expected to decrease the dependency ratio, lead to increased savings and long-term investment trends as more people will be working. This outcome has a direct influence on economic growth. But provided that the working age people are actually working and that the gender and educational gap do not keep potential workforces including females, out of the job market.
With around 50 per cent of the population below 20 years and 60 per cent below 30 years, Pakistan is poised for a 'demographic dividend', with its workforce growing at a faster rate than total population. This trend is estimated to continue for the next 30-40 years, depending upon the country's pace of development. Pakistan's population is projected to reach a staggering 350 million by 2050, almost double its present size, not a very encouraging indicator by itself. But the projected age structure in various demographic studies shows a sizable share to be occupied by the working age group progressively.
A successful outcome will finally depend on the economy's ability to absorb the multiplying work force into productive employment. This requires a proactive approach from policy makers to develop a comprehensive framework for infrastructure development and manpower training. The immense benefits and equally innumerable risks involved have to be timely realised.
- October 26, 2011 at 4:58 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an excerpt from a Dawn report on Ambassador Munter recounting how US AID has helped Pakistan over 50 years:
The US Ambassador further said Pakistanis who doubt that US assistance has borne fruit in Pakistan would be surprised to know that they have tasted it, adding, "Pakistan's most popular citrus fruit, the kinoo, comes from California. USAID brought kinoo seeds to Pakistan in the 1960s. Today, we are helping export Pakistan's sweetest fruit, the mango, in the other direction."
"In the 1950s, we brought together the University of Karachi, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, and the University of Southern California to establish a campus in Karachi to meet the demand for business managers in the bustling port city."
"USAID sponsored the project and the Institute of Business Administration became Pakistan's first business school and one of the first outside of North America. IBA is recognized today as one of South Asia's leading institutions," he maintained.
Ambassador Munter said in 1965, Dr. Norman Borlaug, who later won the Nobel Prize for his contribution to agricultural research, came to Pakistan to introduce his new high-yielding variety of wheat.
"We worked with the Lyallpur Rotary Club to support a program that gave individual farmers a bushel of the new generation of seed if, when the harvest came in, they returned the bushel so we could give it to someone else. While modest in scope, this small project brought Lyallpur into the Green Revolution that in turn converted a food deficit region into an exporter of grains," he added.
In the 1960s and '70s, a consortium of U.S. construction firms employing Pakistanis, Americans, Brits, Canadians, Germans, and Irish built the two mighty dams of Tarbela and Mangla with USAID and World Bank financing, US Ambassador said, adding, "Those engineering feats – more complex than anywhere in the world at that time – soon accounted for 70 per cent of the country's power output and made Pakistan a leading provider of clean energy."
In the 1980s, the US Ambassador said, with USAID's assistance, Pakistan's private industry founded the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
"Pakistanis approached us with the idea for the new institution and we agreed to support it with a contribution of $ 10 million. Today, LUMS incubates the ideas and nurtures the leaders who are critical to Pakistan's future," he remarked.
Ambassador Munter said, since the inception of the Fulbright scholarship program, nearly 3,000 Pakistanis have studied in the United States and close to 1,000 Americans have studied in Pakistan, adding, today, the U.S. Fulbright program in Pakistan is the largest in the world.
Key to all these successes was that Pakistanis owned them.
We may have helped sow the seeds but Pakistanis made sure the flowers blossomed, he said, adding, "aid is a catalyst and its success depends on those who receive it."
"So today, while we help complete dams in Gomal Zam and Satpara and rehabilitate power plants in Muzaffargarh and Jamshoro, only Pakistanis can put an end to circular debt by paying their bills and holding the system accountable."
"While we work to cultivate international markets for Pakistan's fruit and fashion, only Pakistanis can deliver quality products that can compete. While we pay for road construction in South Waziristan, only Pakistanis can provide the local population with economic opportunities to make use of those roads.
While we build schools in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, only Pakistanis can ensure that qualified teachers show up to teach in them," the US Ambassador maintained.
- November 4, 2011 at 9:10 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
British Council Pakistan is organising the Education UK virtual exhibition in Pakistan from 21 November to 30 November 2011.
Pakistan remains an important and rewarding market for the UK but it is equally a challenging environment in which to operate. Virtual exhibitions, as an appropriate remote method of recruitment, have a role in developing a flexible, sustainable approach to service provision that is appropriate to the unique operating context in Pakistan.
With a rapid increase in the number of Internet users and Internet Service Providers, and a large English-speaking population, Pakistani society has seen an unparalleled revolution in communications. Internet access has been available in Pakistan since the mid-1990s. Pakistan is reported as the most connected country in South Asia, with the highest teledensity. Today there are over 20 million frequent internet users in Pakistan.
The core objectives of developing our virtual exhibitions' offering are to:
To provide an opportunity to showcase UK education to the public and key influencers via an interactive on-line platform
Provide a cost-effective means of outreach in the current economic climate
Offer an alternative to the traditional exhibition format in a market where delivery of a standard exhibition is not viable
- November 19, 2011 at 10:55 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an Express Tribune story of a Pakistani young man of humble origins helping terror victims after studying Emergency Medicine at Yale:
.Today, Razzak is a renowned emergency medicine expert and the executive director of the Aman Foundation. He started his schooling at a humble primary school in Lyari, completing his secondary education from Nasira School in Depot Lines. Not one to be held back, the hard-working student subsequently attended Adamjee Science College where his impressive grades and unbounded enthusiasm won him a scholarship at the prestigious Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), the top private medical institution in the country.
In collaboration with the Edhi Ambulance Service, an arm of the philanthropic Edhi organisation and the largest volunteer ambulance network in the world, he researched and analysed road traffic injuries and emergency cases. Edhi had a mountain of documentation for every call and every case it had handled in the last two decades. The downside? None of it was digitised, so he spent days sifting through it manually.
The experience stayed with him, and the data revealed a disturbing pattern. Gruesome injuries, often suffered by the poorest members of society, were often improperly handled by well-meaning doctors, simply because of a lack of know-how. These mistakes frequently, and literally, led to the loss of life and limb.
Yet, Razzak soon realised that he needed more professional training and specialisation courses before he could progress further. He sat for the US Medical Licensing Exams (MLE) and had observations at the Beth Israel Medical Centre, New York, and the Yale-New Haven Hospital, Connecticut. In 1996, his residency and training programme at Yale University's School of Medicine started and in 1999, he was given the 'Best Trainee' award by the State of Connecticut.
On the personal front, Yale was also important for the doctor since he met his future wife there. Following graduation, the two stayed in the US for a few years, always looking forward to the time when they would return home. "The plan was always to come back," says Razzak. "That's why we never bought a house, never completely settled in."
Before they could come back, Razzak did his PhD in Public Health at the world-renowned Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, where he focused on the use of ambulance data for monitoring road traffic accidents. Finally, in 2005, the studious boy from Kharadar returned to Pakistan as a successful, qualified expert in emergency medicine.
He joined his alma mater, AKUH as a faculty member and went on to successfully found Pakistan's first emergency medicine service (EMS) training programme at the university. "There were many doctors who were awarded their degrees without ever administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as it wasn't a requirement," he reveals.
This changed when his EMS programme became a mandatory rotation that all students had to serve. Subsequently, Razzak went on to build and head a new emergency department. Yet, the battle was just half won. Students in the new department faced a dilemma, similar to the one Razzak had as a student. They were required to go to the United Kingdom to sit for their exam, otherwise they would not be considered qualified.
Determined to remove, for others, the hurdles that he himself had crossed only after many toils, Razzak collaborated with the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) to organise a curriculum for the specialised field. The first batch for this course was enrolled last year. Now students wanting to specialise in emergency medicine will be able to obtain certification in their chosen field, without having to travel abroad....
- December 4, 2011 at 10:12 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here are parts of an Express Tribune report on the Inst of Business Admin in Karachi:
About 89% graduates of the latest batch of MBAs have already found jobs, said Dr Ishrat Husain, dean and director of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), while addressing the 12th convocation of the institute here on Friday.
He said recent IBA MBAs received on average the monthly salary of Rs42,000, which was significantly higher than what the graduates of other business schools received.
As for the BBA programme, Husain said 74% graduates had found jobs as of November. "Ten per cent of the BBA graduates have joined family businesses, 7% decided to pursue higher studies, and only 9% are currently looking for jobs."
He said the average monthly salary of an IBA graduate with a BBA degree was Rs33,000.
"The BBA is now a terminal degree, and BBA graduates will henceforth be entering the job market as management trainees," he said.
Talking to The Express Tribune, MBA graduate Taha Ekram said half of his classmates had received multiple job offers before graduation. Ekram, who now works for a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company as a researcher, said IBA had undergone significant changes during the past three years. "Things are getting better. Standards have improved, and IBA's reputation is more established now."
He said the banking sector did not absorb as many IBA graduates this year as it did during the past many years. "They're apparently not hiring this year. Banks used to be the major employers of IBA graduates. But most jobs were on the marketing side this year," Ekram said.
He said that although the average salary MBA graduates received was Rs42,000, the figure didn't reflect the accurate job market situation. "While some graduates are getting Rs80,000 a month, there're actually quite a few graduates who're getting just a little over Rs30,000."
A total of 610 candidates received their bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees. About 33% of the graduates were women.
For the first time, IBA awarded a PhD degree this year: Quratulain Nizamuddin received a doctorate degree in computer science.
Terming 2011 the best year in his three-and-a-half-year tenure at IBA, Husain said it was the "year of progress and execution" because of the culmination of a series of initiatives that would make IBA the top business school in Asia.
He said IBA recently received accreditation by the South Asia Quality Assurance System (SAQS). It is the second business school of Pakistan after the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) to have received the SAQS accreditation....
- December 5, 2011 at 12:16 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an Express Tribune story on the state of higher education in Pakistan:
...."To create a knowledge capital, particularly in an emerging economy, a country has to invest heavily in the education sector," said Dr Laghari, citing examples of South Korea, Singapore and more recently of Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia, who invested in education and made significant progress. Sadly, he said, Pakistan invests only 0.7% of its Gross Domestic Product in education, "which is too meagre to achieve its future goals".
Dr Laghari said we need at least 15,000 PhDs in the next decade, which is only possible if more than 1,000 PhDs are produced every year. However, he said within the available budget we are hardly producing 600 PhDs annually.
Dr Laghari said that at least 20 to 30% of the population aged 17 to 23 should have accessibility to the higher education, but in Pakistan only 7.8% have this facility. In the Muslim world, 27% population in the given age group in Indonesia has access to higher education, in Malaysia it's 30% and in Turkey it is 37%, he added. He cited that Brazil has invested $26 billion on its higher education and is expected to produce 75,000 PhDs in the next ten years.
But despite outlining the issues marring education in Pakistan, Dr Laghari dispelled the impression that the higher education sector is stagnant.
He said that in spite of the financial crunch, HEC has succeeded in improving the quality of education and research. He said that rate of enrolment in higher education is growing by 15 to 20% annually, and published research is increasing 20 to 25% annually.
He said that 10 offices of research innovation have already been set up and another 12 are in the pipeline. Moveover, three centres of advanced studies focusing on water, agriculture and energy are currently being established at different universities, which are priority areas for developing countries like Pakistan, he added.
HEC is focusing on promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in universities and has defined their roles in building economies, communities and leadership, said Dr Laghari. As a result, he said research output has increased significantly in the last few years and so has as the number of PhD graduates. He said although the commission could not send a single person abroad for PhD last year, this year it managed to send abroad 600 to 700 scholars.
"The biggest challenge for higher education is improving both the quality of education and research, which is only possible if the sector gets appropriate funding," he maintained. The HEC chief said the commission has gotten some financial respite from the World Bank, which recently loaned it $300 million, in addition to funds from USAID and the British Council.
He said funds allocated to the HEC last year were insufficient, and warned of massive protests by employees across the country if they are not paid their raised salaries.
- December 27, 2011 at 9:49 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an Express Tribune story on a new business school in Karachi:
Sitting in the corporate office of the Karachi School for Business and Leadership (KSBL), an upcoming graduate management school being established in the financial capital of Pakistan in collaboration with Judge Business School of the University of Cambridge, Dean Robert Wheeler III spoke at length as to why Karachi needed yet another business school.
"No doubt, IBA and LUMS are outstanding business schools. But the academia isn't like a corporation, it's not about winning or losing," Wheeler told The Express Tribune in an interview. "Pakistan needs more top-level business schools, it needs more leaders."
Having served at the Pennsylvania State University, University of Texas at Austin and Georgetown University in key positions like assistant dean and director of MBA programmes, Wheeler has been associated with KSBL for the past two years. Spread over three acres, a dedicated campus of KSBL is currently under construction on main Stadium Road in Karachi. The construction phase will be over in July 2012 and the first intake of students will be in September. Initially, KSBL will offer a full-time, 21-month MBA programme in general management only.
"Our emphasis is on ethical leadership. It's not about being right or wrong. It's about making difficult choices," he said, adding that KSBL would make an extra effort to infuse students with social responsibility. "We'll work with students to help them stay here in Pakistan after they graduate, to make them realise that they owe something to this society."
The MBA curriculum has been designed in collaboration with Judge Business School. Besides conventional teaching methods involving lectures and case studies, KSBL will use videoconferencing to let its students attend live lectures from American and British universities.
"We're wiring the entire building for videoconferencing so that CEOs from London, Singapore and the US could show up on videoconferencing," he said, adding that the campus would benefit from natural light optimisation, as more than 70% of the rooms would have natural lighting.
Wheeler said the core faculty of KSBL would be of Pakistani origin with PhD degrees from foreign universities. "We'll cut back on the administrative work that faculty is often required to do in Pakistan and encourage them to do applied research that could be used in the industry, government and business." In many classes, especially those on entrepreneurship, Wheeler said more than one person would co-teach students via videoconferencing to provide them with a combination of academic and professional perspectives.
Referring to corporate entrepreneurship, or intrapreneurship meaning working like an entrepreneur within an organisation, Wheeler said the traditional role of an entrepreneur was changing, as big corporations were now looking for business graduates with entrepreneurial mindset.
As for the admission process at KSBL, he said prospective students would be judged on their GMAT scores, GPAs, essays and interview performance. "We'll have a holistic approach. We want to produce team players, people who can get along with others. You need to fulfil certain requirements, but high scores only shouldn't guarantee your admission."
Rejecting the idea that working with the bureaucracy is particularly difficult in Pakistan, Wheeler said the United States was equally bureaucratic. "We're right on track. Things are going well. The construction phase will be over in July."
- January 1, 2012 at 10:22 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an excerpt from Malaysia's Bernama news agency report:
..for Pakistan, the education sector is also a priority. Apart from increase in trade during the year, the number of Pakistani students studying in Malaysia increased to over 3,000 students.
"This was due to more linkages established between the universities of both countries," Pakistani High Commissioner to Malaysia Masood Khalid told Bernama.
- January 7, 2012 at 10:43 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an Express Tribune report on 2012-2013 Fulbright scholar program in Pakistan:
Amid strained ties and mutual mistrust, the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan has announced the world's largest Fulbright programme in Pakistan for the 2013.
The US government's flagship scholarship programme awards deserving Pakistani students full scholarships that cover tuition, textbooks, airfare, a stipend, and health insurance to complete their Master's or PhD degrees in a field of their choice in universities across the US. Currently, approximately 369 students are studying in the US on Fulbright awards and another 200 will be departing in the fall of 2012.
According to Ambassador Richard Hoagland, deputy chief of mission, Pakistan's Fulbright programme is also one of the oldest in the world. "Our agreement initiating the programme was signed on September 23, 1950 – and the first Pakistanis and Americans travelled each way in the same year. It was one of the very first agreements of its kind and has since been extended to 155 countries around the world."
Since then, nearly 4,000 Pakistanis and over 800 Americans have participated in USEFP-administered exchange programmes.
The deadline to apply for the 2013 programme is May 16, 2012, and the application form can be downloaded from the USEFP's website www.usefpakistan.org.
- February 10, 2012 at 11:09 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a Dawn report on Education Expo 2012 held in Karachi:
Thousands of students desiring to pursue their further education overseas flocked to the 9th two-day Annual Education Expo 2012, organised by the Dawn Media Group, which opened at the Expo Centre in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Saturday.
According to a representative of the organizers, the exhibition, in which over 160 local and international educational institutions are participating, would remain open on Sunday as well from 11am to 7pm.
Entry to the exhibition is free.
He said the exhibition, an annual event, had regularly been held for the past nine years. The current exhibition was earlier held in Islamabad and Lahore before it moved to the city. He said about 80 per cent of the 160 institutions at the expo were international.
The countries whose educational institutions are participating in the event include Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Turkey, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States. Malaysia and Northern Cyprus are new entrants to the exhibition.
He said the exhibition provided opportunities to students to meet the faculty, admission officers and career councilors directly, and get enrolled on the spot with many of the institutions.
The event, as every year, has been scheduled at a time which coincides with the admission drive in educational institutions and is attracting students from various academies seeking information, coordination and enrolment details from the participating institutions.
Besides the education institutions, various governments, including the US, the UK, Australia and Canada had also set up stalls to promote educational opportunities in their respective countries. Some consultants that provide guidance to students seeking overseas education are also participating in the exhibition.
He said last year over 10,000 students had visited the expo in which around 120 educational institutions had participated.
- February 11, 2012 at 10:06 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an APP story on Cambridge Graduate Union headed by a Pakistani student:
A Pakistani student Arsalan Ghani from Faisalabad has been elected as the President of the Cambridge University Graduate Union. He will lead the student union representing 12,000 MA, M Phil and PhD students studying at Cambridge University. This is the first time ever, in the over 800-year history of the Cambridge University that a Pakistani student has been elected as the President of the Graduate Union.
- March 11, 2012 at 5:16 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a Pak Observer story on UK-Pakistan trade:
British Deputy High Commissioner, Alison Blake says relations between her country and Pakistan have always been cordial and continued to grow.
In an exclusive interview with Pakistan Observer she said trade between the two countries will double in three years. More than 100 British companies are operating in Pakistan and more intend to join them.
She said "the hall-mark of our foreign policy for Pakistan is 'people to people' approach. "This is the way to deepen relations between the two nations," she observed.
Blake said: "The UK and Pakistan are deeply connected. Yet not many people know about the connections in terms of people, trade, culture, education and development that form our unbreakable partnership".
She spoke of key facts regarding Pakistan-UK relations: The UK is home to the largest overseas Pakistani community, approximately 1.2 million today. There are 30,000 Pakistanis studying in the UK at any one time. British Pakistanis are heavily involved in all levels of British politics. From MPs in the House of Commons to Peers in the House of Lords including Baron Nazir Ahmed and Baroness Warsi.
On bilateral trade she said: UK & Pakistan have an ambitious target to boost bilateral trade in goods and services from the 2010 level of £2.0 billion to at least £2.5 billion by 2015. The UK is the top destination in Europe for exports from Pakistan. Pakistan's exports to the UK rose by 17% from Jan to Oct 2011, with particularly strong growth in textiles. UK is the largest European investor in Pakistan. UK is Pakistan's strongest advocate for market access to the EU. UK is the 3rd largest overseas investor in Pakistan with 13.46% market share (FY 2009-10). Over 100 British Companies operate in Pakistan with major interests in the Pharmaceutical, Financial Services, Energy and Retail sectors. On education, the British Deputy High Commissioner said: There are 30,000 Pakistanis studying in the UK at any one time. There are more people studying for O and A levels in Pakistan – some 170,000 of them - more than anywhere else outside of the UK. Pakistan is British Council's largest overseas market for exams. UKaid will spend £650 million on education in Pakistan over the next 4 years. The UKaid funds will help to get more than four million children into school. UKaid will recruit and train an additional 90,000 teachers in Pakistan. UKaid will supply more than six million textbooks sets. UKaid will construct or rehabilitate more than 43,000 classrooms in Pakistan. Alison Blake said that the United Kingdom is home to the largest overseas Pakistani community. The population of British Pakistanis has grown from about 10,000 in 1951 to approximately 1.2 million today. She said: British Pakistanis are heavily involved in all levels of British politics. From MPs in the House of Commons including Sadiq Khan (MP for Tooting) Khalid Mahmood (MP for Birmingham Perry Barr) and Mohammad Sarwar (MP for Glasgow Central) to Peers in the House of Lords including Baron Nazir Ahmed and Baroness Warsi. Baroness Warsi is also a current Cabinet member".
- April 3, 2012 at 8:12 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
US invites Pakistani students over for study, reports Daily Times:
LAHORE: US Public Affairs Officer Brinille Eliane Ellis has said that encouraging Pakistani students to study in the United States is one of their top priories, and a great way to foster better understanding between the two countries.
He said this at the two-day US-funded South Asian US College education fair held at the Forman Christian College (FCC).
The fair featured four representatives from the US higher education institutions.
Students from across Punjab, especially Lahore, obtained information about student life and studying opportunities in the United States directly from the representatives.
EducationUSA, a US State Department-funded global network of student advising centres, organised the event.
Also on hand were representatives from the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, and the Educational Credential Evaluators from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who joined the tour to demonstrate the unique benefits of a US university education.
This is the second South Asian annual education fair tour organised by EducationUSA. Last year, US university representatives travelled across the region from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh to Nepal and then to Pakistan. The programme was so successful that it was repeated again this year, while Afghanistan was also included in the list of countries.
- April 14, 2012 at 4:15 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Pakistan is world's fifth largest source of visitors to UK seeking visa, according to The News:
KARACHI: Pakistan is the fifth largest country to apply for British visas, a diplomat said on Tuesday.
Pakistan is providing huge source of revenue in the shape of students in the UK, said Ms Mandy Ivemy, a senior British diplomat.
Visa issuance ratio to Pakistanis is around 75 percent, which is high against other countries, said Ivemy, Regional Manager for Gulf, Iran and Pakistan, United Kingdom's Border Agency based in British High Commission in Islamabad at a meeting with members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
"Every year Pakistanis make around one million journeys to the UK to meet their relatives, for business purposes or to take education," she said.
"Owing to huge number of applications, the agency was responsible to take a lot of checks, while processing applications," she added.
- April 17, 2012 at 9:23 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Pakistan has become top education market for Australia in vocational training, reports The Australian:
PAKISTAN has become the top growth market in the struggling international education industry, even though revenue from its neighbour India fell almost $1 billion in a single year.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal that Australia's fourth-biggest export industry is turning to new markets to counter a $2.2bn loss of revenue last year.
Experts say some of the new students are attracted to Australia by the prospect of working or even claiming refugee status.
Earnings from the top 12 markets all fell last year, topped by India, which slumped by 37 per cent, but Pakistan bucked the trend, with revenue rising 15 per cent to $253 million.
The Philippines was the only other significant market to record an increase, with earnings rising 13 per cent to $205m. All other top 25 markets experienced declines.
Revenue from Pakistan has risen steadily, more than tripling over the past five years. Earnings from the boom-bust Indian market have almost halved in two years, collapsing from a 2009 peak of $3.1bn.
Shabbir Ahmad, a PhD economics student at the University of Queensland, said fellow Pakistanis were being lured to Australia by the availability of scholarships from both countries.
Dr Shabbir, who is studying for his second doctorate, said he had come to Australia because the leading academics in his field -- efficiency and productivity analysis -- were based here.
He said while his family had been denied public health and schooling in Australia, the overall experience had been positive. "As far as the academic environment goes, I'm very happy, and people are very welcoming," he said.
However, international education researcher Alan Olsen said the growth in the Pakistani market was in vocational training, not top-end higher education.
Mr Olsen said that while the number of Pakistani students had increased by about 1200 last year, private vocational students had claimed about 1000 of them.
International Education Association of Australia executive director Phil Honeywood said some colleges had moved staff to Pakistan to help meet the demand. He said most Pakistani students came for genuine educational purposes, but significant numbers were here for work and residency opportunities in a peaceful country. "It's dangerous in Pakistan," said Mr Honeywood, a former Victorian tertiary education minister.
He said many Pakistanis studied for business diplomas at private colleges at a cost of about $9000. This gave them advance standing in university degrees, which in turn conferred the right to work for two years in Australia after graduating...
- May 15, 2012 at 10:52 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an APP report on China-Pakistan "education diplomacy":
Lauding the successful holding of joint workshop by two prominent higher learning institutions of Pakistan and China, Ambassador Masood Khan has said the exchanges are 'now moving into hi-tech areas'. "As a result of the decision taken by the leadership on both sides, in coming years collaboration in the field of basic sciences including Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics will increase many folds," said Khan while addressing a reception hosted for a joint delegation of COMSATS and Tsinghua University here at Pakistan Embassy Thursday.
Ambassador Khan said Pakistan-China relations are increasingly under pinned in educational context, adding that "educational diplomacy is what will bring the youths and professionals of the two countries closer."
Regarding holding of a joint workshop, Ambassador Khan termed it as a good beginning, as Tshingua is prestigious university well known all around the world. He said the interface between the two sides is good.
Ambassador Khan appreciated the decision that in next step, the CCIT will invite a 50-member delegation of Tshinghua University to visit Pakistan.
Exchange of delegations in the realm of education between the countries, is best form of diplomacy, he added.
He said COMSATS provides enabling environment where students have ambition and passion for gaining latest knowledge.
Under an MoU signed by both the universities, exchanges of students and faculty members and research in cutting edge educational technologies will be carried out.
Earlier the 17-member COMSATS delegation gave presentations on research study carried out in different areas. The delegation also visited the Technology Park of the University.
Professor Qi Kun Xue, Dean School of Sciences, Professor Qing Wang, Chairman Department of Physics and Professor Arshad Bhatti, Dean Faculty of Sciences COMSATS also addressed the reception.
Established a decade ago, COMSATS has seven campuses in Pakistan in which over 22,000 students are getting modern education, said Professor Bhatti.
The delegation is scheduled to leave for Pakistan Friday evening.
- May 25, 2012 at 10:08 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's PakistanTribune on US research grants to Pakistanis study economic development:
Twenty-two Pakistani scholars have been awarded a total of $490,000 worth of grants by the United States government for research on various fields related to economic development and markets.
The 22 winning proposals were selected from more than 180 research applications from all over the country and abroad. The selection was made by a 15-member committee consisting of internationally acclaimed scholars with extensive research experience in Pakistan and abroad, says a press release.
"This is yet another example of the US support for Pakistan's development priorities. We believe that this research will help lay foundations to the growth of Pakistan's economy, thus contributing to a more prosperous future for the people of this country," US embassy coordinator Richard Albright said.
- June 7, 2012 at 7:13 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a Dawn story on Pak students in US:
Focusing on around five Pakistanis studying in the US, the documentary captured similar stories from students of diverse backgrounds, coming from areas like FATA, Hyderabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Light in tone, it first captured the awkward questions Pakistani students had to face. "Are there roads in Pakistan," "Are the coffee shops there similar to here," and in a more serious vein, "Why don't you cover your face?" and so on.
One American lady revealed that she honestly thought the Pakistani student might bomb the classroom, but that impression changed over time.
Similarly, touching on political overtones, a student, Hammad Ali Khan, said he was worried that once he landed at an airport in US, his green passport would get him harassed by the airport security. But some of the adjustment was culture related. An American teacher stated that students from Pakistan treat professors like god and hesitate to ask questions, but with time they learn that discussion with teachers is encouraged in the American context and open up with time.
Finding halal food can become problematic for students in the US, hence converting them into vegetarians. A student suggested that with tomatoes, chick peas and other ingredients, if one is innovative, an improvised "channa chat" can be made. "Spoken like a true Pakistani," commented one audience member.The students also acknowledged the strengths of both countries. Kiran Rajput from Hyderabad appreciated the respect and freedom given to the minorities to practise their religion in Pakistan and in US.
And Irfan Ullah, a student struggling with polio, shared that there are many opportunities there for the disabled and he is empowered in an environment where he is not treated any less than others. The documentary displayed that students are ambassadors of their respective countries, families and cultures. Some residents of the US realised that not everything their media showed was true as they were confronted only to negativities in the case of Pakistan – drone attacks, suicide bombings – and all the cultural, educational and development aspects were not showered any light on.
- July 8, 2012 at 8:14 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a News story on 90 French scholarship for Pakistani students:
Under need-based scholarship programme, the French government will support 90 promising students of six Pakistani universities in the fields of social science, business and architecture.
In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between France government and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) at French Embassy on Thursday. Ambassador of France Philippe Thiébaud and Chairperson HEC Dr Javaid R. Laghari along with vice chancellors of the corresponding universities and institutions signed the MoU.
France, through its Embassy in Islamabad, will offer scholarships to 90 promising students primarily from FATA, KPK and Baluchistan to pursue their education in top universities and institutions of Pakistan.
The universities include Quaid-E-Azam University, Islamabad, COMSATS Institute of Technology, Islamabad, Government College University, Lahore, Institute of Management Sciences, IMS Peshawar, Institute of Business and Management, Karachi and Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta.
The scholarships awards are designed to cover the complete cost of education during the entire academic program of the 90 recipients (e.g.2-4 years for the MBA, BBA and Social Sciences) for a total cost of Rs23 millions.
The selection process will ensure that at least 25 per cent of the awarded scholarships go to girls, especially those coming from areas where the access to higher education is difficult.
Speaking on the occasion, French Ambassador Philippe Thiébaud, termed higher education key area in the bilateral relationship of both countries. He said that this scholarship grant scheme will further strengthen the close and long term bilateral friendship between the Pakistan and French governments.
Chairperson HEC Dr Javaid R. Laghari said that the HEC is committed to provide equitable access to the higher education in Pakistan and a number of practical steps have been taken in this regard. He also extended thanks and appreciated the gesture of the government and people of France.
- July 20, 2012 at 4:55 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a News story on 200 Pakistani students going for a semester abroad under UGRAD program:
A pre-departure orientation workshop was organised by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) for departing students here on Wednesday evening.
Students were briefed by the USEFP on the programme, visa regulations, American culture and US higher education and campus life. All students would return to Pakistan to complete their bachelor's degrees. As many as 200 undergraduate students from all parts of Pakistan will be departing over the next year for a semester of study at colleges and universities in the US as part of the Global Undergraduate Programme (UGRAD) in Pakistan. As many as 100 will travel in August-September for the fall semester and an additional 100 will go to the US in January 2013.
An initiative of the US Department of State, the UGRAD programme will send Pakistani students to over 50 campuses in the US where they will take classes along with American students, do public presentations on the culture and people of Pakistan, and be an active part of the local community they will be staying in. Since the programme began in 2010, approximately 500 Pakistani students have participated. The fellowships cover all expenses for the students including travel, lodging, stipend, and tuition.
"To see so many impressive Pakistani young people — each of you an incredibly talented representative of this great nation's bright future — is inspiring," said Brent Beemer, cultural attache at the US Embassy, who addressed the group, "To think that my country has had some role in advancing your education and helping your nation's prospects makes me feel very good, and even proud."
"The really exciting thing about this group of undergraduates is that so many of these students come from remote or economically disadvantaged areas of Pakistan. The group includes students from every province of Pakistan and 52 per cent are women. The students come from a wide variety of disciplines, including humanities and social science subjects, engineering, basic sciences, law, art and design, economics, and business administration," said Rita Akhtar, Executive Director of the USEFP...
- July 20, 2012 at 5:05 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a Wall Street Journal story of recent influx of Saudi students in US:
In the years following the security crackdown on Arab travelers after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks—in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi Arabian—tough restrictions kept most Arab students away from the U.S. In 2004, only about 1,000 Saudis were studying in the U.S., according to the U.S. State Department.
This past school year, Saudi Arabia sent 66,000 students to U.S. universities, four times the number before the 2001 attacks and the fastest-growing source of foreign students in the U.S., ahead of China, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Saudi influx is part of a broader increase in international students in the U.S. as American universities seek to raise tuition revenues. Some 723,277 foreign students enrolled during the 2010-2011 school year, up 32% from a decade ago.
Saudi Arabia's international scholarship program, launched when Saudi King Abdullah took the throne in 2005, is a key part of his efforts to equip future generations in handling the country's main challenges, including a fast-growing population and declining oil reserves.
Since taking over, the Saudi king has emphasized scientific education and exposure to foreign countries as keys to combat religious extremism and transform Saudi Arabia into a modern state. This year, the scholarship program has about 130,000 young people studying around the world, at an estimated cost of at least $5 billion since the program began.
The king's efforts to modernize, including the scholarship program, have led to constant tension between Western-influenced Saudis and a religiously educated core who hold heavy sway over society and reject modernization because it is associated with the West.
As late as the 1950s, Saudi Arabia had a literacy rate below 5%. Today, the percentage of literate Saudis has reached 79%, according to the CIA World Factbook. One-third have university degrees, the World Bank says.
Even so, religious conservatives have a lingering influence over curriculum. Critics say Saudi schooling is long on theology and short on science and math. The kingdom ranked 93rd out of 129 countries in UNESCO'S 2008 quality of education index.
In the past, only upper class Saudis were educated abroad. The king's scholarship program, by contrast, reaches out to promising young people in all levels of society, says Ahmed al Omran, a Saudi journalist who earned a master's from Columbia University.
At the graduation ceremony in Washington in May, Saudi degree recipients ranged from second-generation U.S. graduates, to the first in their families to read and write.
To be eligible for the program, students must have top grades and generally study in a field targeted by the government—such as business, engineering or medicine. Females are required to be accompanied by a close male relative. The government urges students to avoid political activity and media attention, students say.
- July 28, 2012 at 7:08 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a BR report on HEC sponsored research scholars:
Higher Education Commission (HEC) has awarded 1647 scholarships to PhD scholars, studying in higher education institutions of Pakistan, for undertaking research at top ranking universities of 37 academically advanced countries.
The scholarships has been awarded under International Research Support Initiative Programme (IRSIP).
These foreign scholarships have been awarded in all the major disciplines including physical sciences, agriculture and veterinary sciences, biological and medical sciences, social sciences, management sciences and engineering.
It was informed during the 22nd meeting of IRSIP award committee which was presided over by the Executive Director HEC, Prof. Dr. Sohail H. Naqvi.
The meeting was apprised that through this innovative programme, HEC is offering six month research fellowship abroad to full time PhD students enrolled in Pakistan to enhance their research capabilities.
It is of utmost importance that the doctoral studies carried out in Pakistan are of a standard that is at par with any international reputed institution. This is only possible if candidates are provided with adequate support in research projects.
The indigenous PhD students sometimes face problems in research due to paucity of resources therefore the scheme is helping to provide doctoral students exposure internationally so they could carry out research projects of high standard.
It was also informed that the scheme is also assisting ongoing Indigenous PhD programmes by providing a mechanism for PhD scholars to travel abroad and conduct research in academically advanced countries.
This is providing exposure to the PhD scholars which will enhance the quality of research that they will be conducting in Pakistan.
The programme has also been greatly helpful to develop academic linkages between Pakistani and leading foreign institutions. The fellowship package covers travel, bench fee and living expenditure.
As an outcome of this programme, the number of international research publications by Pakistani scholars has been increased from 304 to 662 with 117% increase while the number of local publications has also been increased from 380 to 552 with 45% increase.
The Executive Director HEC and participants of the meeting appreciated the outcome of the programme and termed it as flagship programme of the HEC.
The establishment of the HEC in September 2002 has heralded a revolution in higher education in Pakistan; the HEC has accomplished more in nine years since its establishment than was achieved in the first 55 years of Pakistan's existence.
In Pakistan, under the HEC, in addition to quality reforms, there has been a strong resurgence of research and innovation.
In particular, there is a significant growth in the number of PhDs awarded out of Pakistani universities.
As a result of phenomenal increase in research publications, the world share of Pakistan's research has gone up by 300 percent in the last five years.
- August 8, 2012 at 10:49 AM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a report on foreign students as a lucrative source:
Most people don't think of foreign students as an economic resource, yet that is precisely what they are. Each year, students from other countries spend billions of dollars in the U.S. economy, pumping money not only into the colleges and universities they attend, but the surrounding businesses as well. In addition, many foreign students go on to become highly innovative scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who add value to the U.S. economy in myriad ways that are often difficult to quantify. Given the economic value of the education they receive in U.S. universities, it is unfortunate that so many foreign students are forced by our nonsensical immigration policies to return to their home countries rather than putting their knowledge to use in this country.
According to a new report from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, "international students and their dependents contributed approximately $21.81 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2011-2012 academic year." More precisely, the monetary contributions of foreign students and their families consisted of $15.8 billion in students' tuition and fees, $14 billion in students' living expenses, and $397 million in living expenses for their dependents. Subtracted out of the total was U.S.-based financial support of $8.4 billion. Spending by students and their dependents totaled $3.2 billion in California, $2.6 billion in New York, $1.5 billion in Massachusetts, $1.4 billion in Texas, $1.1 billion in Pennsylvania, and $1 billion in Illinois. In the modest words of the NAFSA report: "By any measure, international education makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy."
However, as the report notes, the "$21.81 billion" figure is a conservative estimate that does not include the "multiplier effect" which spending by foreign students has on the U.S. economy. That is, some of the money spent by foreign students becomes someone else's income, some of which is also spent, becoming a portion of someone else's income, etc. Just as importantly, the NAFSA estimate doesn't capture the contributions which many foreign students go on to make as part of the high-skilled U.S. workforce and the U.S. business community. For instance, the National Science Board estimates that, in 2009, immigrants accounted for 41.6% of all science-and-engineering workers in the United States who had a doctorate and 33.4 percent those with a master's degree. According to a report from the Brooking Institution, "among people with advanced degrees, immigrants are three times more likely to file patents than U.S.-born citizens." And a report from the Kauffman Foundation found that "immigrants were more than twice as likely to start businesses each month than were the native-born in 2010."
In short, $21.81 billion in spending is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to measuring the economic contributions of foreign students. Given this fact, it is mind-boggling that so many foreign students are forced to return home after completing their studies in U.S. universities. In many cases, the United States is training workers for its own economic competitors. This does not make good business sense. A more enlightened immigration policy would encourage foreign students to stay in the United States and put their knowledge to use strengthening the U.S. economy. Perhaps lawmakers can put this on their "to do" list as they contemplate immigration reform over the coming year.
- November 21, 2012 at 9:07 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's a News report on decline in Pakistani students going to the UK:
LONDON: There has been a significant drop in the number of genuine applications for studying in the UK universities from Pakistani students since the introduction of harsh immigration policies and vilification of immigrants under the new Conservative-LibDem coalition government.
Chief Executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge, said that universities are reporting a significant drop in the number of students applying from overseas, particularly from India, Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia but Pakistani students are not only discouraged by the UK's immigration crackdown but they also face disproportionate treatment from the immigration officers who process their applications in Dubai and during face-to-face interviews conducted in Pakistan.
She said that crackdown on bogus foreign students have driven large numbers of genuine overseas applicants to competitor countries, damaging not only universities but also the UK economy.
She said the senior ministers calling for a crackdown on "bogus students" had given the impression that overseas students were no longer welcome and was driving them towards competitor countries such as the US, Canada and Australia.
Home Secretary Theresa May last month announced the introduction of face-to-face interviews for 100,000 applicants for student visas a year.
This means that most Pakistani applicants will have to face interviews in British High Commission in Islamabad. After 9/11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, the number of students from Islamic countries, particularly Pakistanis, shot up as American officials started picking on Pakistani students and Britain was seen as a benign country but that is not the case anymore as Pakistani students, including visitor visa applicants, are also a suspect in the UK now and their applications are rejected on mass scale.
Overseas students are estimated to be worth GBP8bn a year to the British economy, a figure projected to rise to GBP16.8bn by 2025, according to a study by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Office for National Statistics' figures released in November showed a 26% fall in the number of visas issued for the purposes of study in the year to September 2012 but Dandridge said "anecdotal evidence suggested the downward trend was set to accelerate."
Pakistan was amongst the top ten nationalities issued entry clearance visas for the purpose of study in 2011. Of the total 261,405 student visas issued, 35,660 students visas were issued to Pakistani applicants. In 2010, the number of Pakistani students issued visas was 26,490.
But Pakistan is not included in the top ten nationalities for the year 2011 when a total of 61, 381 student visitors were issued with a visa for a maximum six-month duration. Nearly 70,000 people were issued student visitor visas in 2012 but Pakistan was not added in the top ten countries.
A home office spokesperson refused to share the reasons why Pakistanis were not amongst the top ten countries' category but referred to a statement by Mark Harper, the immigration minister. It says: "The UK's education system is one of the best in the world but to maintain this reputation it is vital that we tackle the abuse of the student route, while making sure Britain remains open for business."
- January 9, 2013 at 9:19 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here's an excerpt of a Dawn report on Pakistan's university education:
According to the OECD's 2009 Global Education Digest, 6.3 per cent of Pakistanis were university graduates as of 2007. The government plans to increase this rate to 10 per cent by 2015 and 15 per cent by 2020. But the key challenges are readiness for growth of the educational infrastructure and support from public and private sector.
According to 2008 statistics, Pakistan produces about 445,000 university graduates and 10,000 computer science graduates per year. Pakistan Telecom Authority indicates that as of 2008 there are nearly 22 million internet users and over 80 million mobile phone subscribers. A combination of all these educational and technological factors gives Pakistan great leverage to progress towards targeted curriculum development and dissemination through e-learning..
Here's an excerpt of OECD Global Education Digest 2009:
In 2007, 9% of all mobile students originated from South and West Asia. Overall, 1.5% of the region's tertiary students go abroad, which is lower than the
global average. India, for example, accounts for 5.5% of
the global total of mobile students. Yet, its outbound
mobility ratio is very low with only 1 out of 100 tertiary
students from the country studying abroad. Outbound mobility ratios are generally low across the
region with the notable exceptions of Nepal (5%) and Pakistan (3%). In 2007, the outbound mobility ratio increased by 0.5 percentage points.
- February 28, 2013 at 11:28 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Here are a couple of links showing number of B, F and H visas issued by US worldwide:
F visas (student visas) to Pakistani citizens continue to be very low but increased from 1,224 in 2012 to 1,535 in 2013.
Similarly, H visas (temp work visas) remain very low but increased from 1238 in 2012 to 1,301 in 2013.
The largest number of non-immigrant visas issued to Pakistanis are business visa...B1 and B2. Such visas increased from 35,768 in 2012 to 39,701 in 2013.
Similar US visas issued to Indians are several orders of magnitude higher.
- May 18, 2014 at 4:43 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
A group of 80 scholarship winners, bound for the United States to pursue masters degrees, gathered for a pre-departure orientation on Friday evening. The event was hosted by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) at a private hotel.
While congratulating the students, USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar said, "The USEFP is pleased to be able to help talented Pakistani students like you, achieve admission to US colleges and universities. US colleges and universities welcome Pakistani students as they add to the already-rich diversity in the classroom."
The event was a networking platform designed to prepare the students for their educational experience. Since its beginning, the USEFP has helped thousands of Pakistani students achieve their dreams of US higher education through its scholarship programmes and free-of-charge advisory services.
Education USA Advising Manager Umair Khan offered some tips to the students. He explained that professor-student relations were less formal in the United States than in Pakistani universities.
- July 13, 2014 at 12:51 PM
- Riaz Haq said...
Around 10,000 Pakistani students will be awarded scholarships to study in different universities of Europe in the year 2015 by the European Union Education Foundation (EUEF). The first entries to the programme will be from Sindh, The Express Tribune has learnt.
"We are waiting for the final proposal from the provincial [Sindh] government," revealed the EUEF director of scholarships programme, Yvonne Hunter. "The government is interested [this time] and I hope the plan will materialise soon."
During her visit to Karachi last week, Hunter explained that the EUEF was established to promote higher education in developing countries. "Our aim is help in community development through self-sufficiency in the education sector by providing students from developing countries easy access to higher studies in Europe."
The scholarship programme is not new to Pakistan. According to Azfar Bukhari who is the project manager and media co-ordinator for EUEF, they had tried to launch the programme two years ago but had been unsuccessful. "This time, however, the government is more interested," said Bukhari hopefully.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Hunter said that her team has been assured of full cooperation by the Sindh government to make the programme a success. "Apart from the Sindh government, the government of Balochistan as well as the federal government are keen to participate," she said. "In Pakistan, everything is very easily politicised so we want to ensure our efforts are not used as part of an electoral campaign by some political party."
In response to a query regarding the level of interference and assistance required of the government, Hunter said: "Of course we need their assistance, but not at the cost of transparency and credibility." She maintained that the government will only be brought on as stakeholders if they assure the EUEF of unbiased work. "We want to make the programme a success without making it controversial."
According to the director, the foundation will award scholarships to up to 10,000 eligible students every year. These scholarships will be honoured in universities and colleges already affiliated with the EUEF across Europe. "Not to forget these scholarships will be valid till the end of the study programme, not just for the first term."
The students will be given ample choice to select from both graduate and postgraduate degrees and higher national diplomas. The eligibility to apply to the programme is HSC or GCE A level, without a gap of more than a year during the candidate's regular studies.
The applicants have to appear for a simple aptitude test that will be conducted by the National Testing Service. This is to test basic knowledge and English language skills. The first 10,000 high scorers will be awarded the scholarships. "We have kept the selection procedure simple and transparent to avoid any controversies. We want to accommodate as many students as possible." Hunter explained.
According to the EUEF office bearers, the programme aims to enable Pakistani students to study abroad so that they can gain exposure of developed countries making them less vulnerable to volatile issues in their home country. "We are offering 10,000 scholarships every year for the next five years, which makes it 50,000 by the culmination of our project." The programme will ultimately provide Pakistan with 50,000 highly skilled professionals by the time it concludes.
- August 10, 2014 at 7:59 PM


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Exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation is believed to increase the risk of multiple myeloma and other cancers. It is a good idea to avoid these substances.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: Mohei Abouzied, MD
- Review Date: 09/2013 -
- Update Date: 09/30/2013 -

subset: commoncrawl


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Data and Creativity at the Social Shake Up: Defining Your Data-Driven Social CampaignTalking Strategy and Data with Shannon Lee of Precision StrategiesNew IBM Study Reveals 3 Key Characteristics of the Most Successful CompaniesMinority Report: Confronting Privacy Issues in Big Data Gathering
Tech & Innovation
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How Secure Is Your Password?So Google, What About That HTTPS?Is Wearable Tech Putting Your Data at Risk?3 Security Risks You're Taking Every Day While Using Social Media
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Social Change Agent Survey: Passion, Skill Set, and Persistence Lead to Career GrowthThe Social Shake-Up Attracts Wide Breadth of Brands and IndustriesThe Social Shake-Up: How CMOs Drive Innovation and Revenue GrowthThe Social Shake-Up: The Future of Social Business
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Social Organization
What's Shaking at the Social Shake-Up 2014? [VIDEO]The Social Shake-Up 2014: Day One RecapThe Social Shake-Up 2014: Day Two RecapWho Should Make Up the Content Creation Team?
Employee Advocacy
Recap from the First-Ever Employee Advocacy SummitFormer IBM Senior Advisors Launch Brands Rising to Build Employee Advocacy ProgramsPerformance and Risk Management Through Social Media TrainingEmployee Advocacy Summit: Advocate Stories from the Field
Big List 2.0: The Top 106 B2B Online Customer CommunitiesHow to Increase Engagement in Your Online Community5 Ways Content Marketing Is the New Community Marketing
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SMT Shorts: Linda Descano of CitiCombining Social Media with CRM for Even Better Engagement3 Customer Service No-No's When a Customer Wants to Pull the Plug4 Ways to Generate More Hotel Reviews on TripAdvisor
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Community Managers Are the Superheroes of Their Companies [INFOGRAPHIC]
Posted on January 27th 2014
Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day (CMAD)! Today, and every day, Community Managers are some of our favorite team members. They're constantly working for justice for their customers, while embodying the personality of their brand. It's a job that involves requires tact, empathy, good judgment, genuine enthusiasm, charm, and a sense of responsibility to the customers and the brand….Do you see why they're such superheroes (the infographic below elaborates)? Don't forget to give your CM something special today — a huge hug, some flowers, maybe even a cape. Trust me, he or she has earned it.


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Oct 31, 2012 | 12:42 PM
| Lisa Gordon
ferrous scrap,
november buying,
hurricane sandy,
lisa gordon
PITTSBURGH Hurricane Sandy has managed to bring parts of the East Coast to a screeching halt, but it appears unlikely the storms aftermath will disrupt the monthly ferrous scrap trade, which most sources say looks set to begin later this week at a premium to Octobers levels.
At least two Detroit mill buyers told AMM they will be active in the market on Friday or Monday at the latest, with both expecting prices to settle higher than the previous months trades.
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Are you stocking more inventory today than 18 months ago?
We actually don't know who his investors are. At the point when we are ready, we will investigate further. There are just so many things to handle and there are a lot of items to be considered with the project."
-- Charles C. Mitchell, Barstow city manager