US wants more Pakistani students but students have no information

Although countries like the US want Pakistani students in their schools and universities, aspiring students don’t have access to adequate information in this regard. Education experts and students alike are worried by the little scattered information to be found on the Internet and search engines, and provided by civil society groups and foreign desks in Pakistan.

Students and stakeholders said the federal government and chancellors of the provinces should resolve the issue in a formal way. A Daily Times investigation revealed that the trend of studying abroad was on the rise, especially among students who wanted to go abroad for higher education.

There are no proper channels to guide students in this regard, but several ‘study abroad’ stalls set up by legal and illegal immigration consultants can be spotted easily at educational exhibitions in major cities. The US however wants more Pakistani students in its schools and it has streamlined its visa process for this purpose. Alex Michael Berenberg, third secretary of the US Consulate, said, “We want Pakistanis to be goodwill ambassadors.” He said that he wanted Pakistani students to respect technical and security procedures while applying for visas. The aim of inviting students, especially at this time, was to promote cultural, business and travel exchanges, he added. Applicants earlier had to wait for 75 days for technical clearance, but the period has now been reduced to 13 days, and students can now walk into the embassy without an appointment and apply for an interview at the visa desk.

US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C Crocker has also circulated a letter mentioning that the number of Pakistani students in the US was on the rise. Students at various gatherings arranged by civil society groups and non-government organisations have been calling for a student resource centre at all universities for information on top international universities and the scholarships they offer. Bargad, an NGO, arranged a gathering some weeks ago in which participants said that resource centres should be established to guide students in this regard, tell them about the courses and programmes on offer and admission procedure. Participants said the government and NGOs should also play their role, while Bargad offered to establish counselling centres at universities. The Lahore School of Economics (LSE), Lahore Grammar School, University of Engineering and Technology (UET), University of Central Punjab and Institute of Cost and Management Sciences were at the gathering.

Stakeholders have also been demanding the government establish such resource centres in collaboration with foreign embassies. They said the government should gather details of scholarships and the admission process of foreign universities and compile a handbook to be distributed in public /private sector universities. Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool, known as the ‘governor of education’, should look into the matter, they added. They said the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the richest organisation of the country according to President Gen Pervez Musharraf, should also consider options in this regard.

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