The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back to at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C, remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan people. The areas underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs, Afghans and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century and ruled for 100 years. The separation in 1947 of British India came into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East section) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved. India and Pakistan fought two wars in 1947 – 48 and 1965 over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad’s marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics – resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. India – Pakistan relations have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, but both countries are taking small steps to put relations back on track. In February 2008, Pakistan held parliamentary elections and in September 2008, after the resignation of former President Musharaf, elected Asif Ali Zardari to the presidency. Pakistani government and military leaders are struggling to control domestic insurgents, many of whom are located in the tribal areas adjacent to the border with Afghanistan.
Geographically Pakistan spreads over an area of 796,095 sq km and is very strategically situated as is usually called the gateway to Asia as to the south, it borders with the Arabian Sea and lies between Afghanistan, Iran, China and India.
Pakistan has a total population of 87,342,721, making it the sixth most populous country in the world. The population is growing at a rate of 1.71%, with a greater concentration in the rural areas of 62 percent.
The Head of the state is President Asif Ali Zardari, who has been in power since 9 September 2008, the Head of the Government is Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani since 25 March 2008. They both belong to the Pakistan People’s Party. Other major political parties in Pakistan are the Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan Muslim League (Q), Awami National Party and Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The GDP for the year 2010/2011 is forecasted at 2.8 percent. Pakistan, an improvised and underdeveloped country, has suffered from decades of internal political disputes and low levels of foreign investment. Between 2001-07, however, poverty levels decreased by 10%, as Islamabad steadily raised development spending. During 2004 -07, despite severe electricity shortfalls – but growth slowed in 2008- 2009 and unemployment rose. Inflation remains the top concern among the public, climbing from 7.7% in 2007 to more than 13% in 2010. In addition, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated since 2007 as a result of political and economic instability. The government agreed to an International Monetary Fund Standby Arrangement in November 2008 in response to a balance of payment crisis, but during 2009-2010 its current account strengthened and foreign exchange reserves stabilized - largely because of lower oil prices and record remittances from workers abroad. Record floods in July – August 2010 lowered agricultural output and contributed to a jump in inflation, and reconstruction costs will strain the limited resources of the government. Textiles account for most of Pakistan’s export earnings, but Pakistan’s failure to expand a viable export base for other manufactures has left the country vulnerable to shifts in world demand. Other long term challenges include expanding investment in education, healthcare and electricity production and reducing dependence on foreign donors. (source: The World Fact Book)
Ten years of schooling leads to secondary school certificate metric, followed by a further two years for the intermediate certificate. In the private sector, students may follow the national path or take GCEs. One of the major differences in the private sector compared to the public sector is that the medium of instruction is in English throughout the school years.
After their intermediate or higher secondary schooling (12 years of schooling), students enrol on Bachelor’s degree programmes, which is for a duration of 2 years followed by a 2 years Masters Programme. Alternatively if a Bachelors degree is completed in 4 years, this is considered equivalent to 16 years of progressive study or a Master’s degree.
Pakistan is one of the six countries which accounts for 54 percent of the UK’s (non-EU) international students. After September 2001, it has become the market leader, a place traditionally taken by the US, but the US is picking up after a long time, owing to simplified visa procedures and increased marketing efforts, not to forget the excellent scholarship opportunities that thy have to offer Pakistani students.
There were 5222 students from Pakistan studying in the United States in 2009/2010 (Source:IIE Opendoors). Pakistan now has the largest Fulbright Scholarship Programme in the world. There is an upward trend of Pakistani students studying in Australia. 2557 students studied in Australia in 2009/2010 compared to 2190 in 2008/2009 (Source: AEI). Other European countries have also become quite active in marketing their education in Pakistan. Countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are more visible and perceived as offering quality education at lower prices. UK has remained the highest in this with 10,420 students studying in the UK in 2009/2010 (HESA, 2011).
Pakistan is predominantly a postgraduate market, of the students currently studying in the UK, approximately 71 per cent are postgraduate and 29 per cent undergraduate. While the further education market is still relatively small, there is potential for growth, as there is a greater need for skills in a more service sector-led economy.
One-year Master's programmes are popular, due to their shorter duration compared to competitors. A further major aspect of the postgraduate market is the relatively wide availability of scholarships by UK institutions and Government funding agencies. In addition to the Pakistan Government‘s new overseas scholarship schemes, this target group also has access to scholarships offered by international organisation such as IMF, Commonwealth and World Bank. Popular subject areas are for 2009- 2010 are Business Studies, Engineering, Computer Sciences, Social Sciences followed by law.
Based on HESA statistics, the total number of Pakistani students enrolled in the UK was 10,420 in 2009 / 2010, a 2 percent growth on 2008/2009.
There is also significant growth in GCE O- and A-levels conducted in Pakistan, which naturally leads to demand for UK undergraduate study. More than 46,000 students took these examinations in 2010 / 2011. Popular subjects include business, law, accountancy, IT, management and engineering.
Foundation programmes have a market in Pakistan as a pathway from 12-year study into UK higher education.
Vocational programmes are a new market in Pakistan, with increasing student awareness of the opportunities. National Vocational and Technical Education Commission (NAVTEC) is a regulatory body for promoting linkages among various stakeholders to address challenges aced by Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET). These include training and skill enhancing at individual level and initiating a mega campaign at public-private partnerships. NAVTEC specially focuses on disadvantaged groups in the region. Realizing the real need and importance, the commission has made itself up for establishing of sector specifies training institutes and centre of excellence. These institutes make available linkages between the industry and technical institutes and facilitate in information flow and benefit from new industrial innovation by bridging the gap between academics and new industrial innovations. In this regards, the contribution of different Industries Advisory Groups (IAGs), to create missing links between industries and training providers cannot be ruled out. The IAGs provide industry intelligence to policy makers and training providers in designing skills, standards and curricula. IAGs have identified five priority areas: textiles, construction, tourism and hospitality, surgical instruments and agriculture.
Trans-national education (TNE) is a growing market in Pakistan and recent research showed evidence of over 40 such programmes running successfully with UK institutions at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Overall, the UK takes about 65 per cent of the TNE market in Pakistan, which is very encouraging, as the market has started to pick up very recently.
Pakistan is divided into four provinces and one federal or capital region and the British Council has offices in two provinces – Lahore, Karachi – and the federal capital, Islamabad with examination centres in Multan and Faisalabad. We have Education UK staff in all three locations (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore) and are a team of eight, lead by the Head of Education UK, one Partnerships Manager, 3 Education UK Managers and 3 Education UK Officers.
Conflict in the country has been a pressing concern for the British Council, as a result we are required to observe strict security measures. Our offices have been closed to public access since 11 September 2001. Alternatively, we have a fully-equipped British Council Information Centre with a large team who manage enquiries through e-mail and a toll-free number from Monday to Friday. The British Council Pakistan has redesigned its marketing, promotion and outreach strategy a great deal to respond to the absence of public access. Education UK activities are designed such where the team reaches out to the relevant stakeholders for maximum impact. The essence of our marketing strategy is to change perceptions of the UK and make it the most preferred and accessible choice for Pakistani students through innovative and interactive mediums.
Our major interface with students is through education agents, Local Representatives of UK institutions and school counsellors. We have increased the numbers of resource centres in schools across the country. We have over 630 counsellors in our network, out of which 48 counsellors from across Pakistan have benefitted from the Inward Mission to UK institutions to date. There are over 130 Agent offices across Pakistan, many of which have undergone our agents’ online training and other capacity building workshops. Majority of students going to the UK are using their services.
We hold targeted counselling days and information days at different local institutions with agents, school counsellors and alumni and directly engage with more than 12,000 people a year.
UK institutions have representative offices in Pakistan and the number is growing. Most of the offices are located in the Punjab region, mainly in Lahore.
We have a dedicated Education UK website attracting more than 75,000 unique visitors every year.
UK alumni have been invited to discuss their experiences in the UK and have also given advice, looking at the latest trends in careers options in the international and Pakistani markets in a series of programmes aired on popular television channels and FM radio stations apart from participating regularly in all Education UK activities. The media programmes have been extremely popular and on a yearly basis we reach out to an average of 5million viewers and listeners.
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