Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF

Pakistani students consider new options abroad

ICEF Dubai event attendees received some insider tips on the Pakistani market during last week's seminar from Syed Azhar Husnain Abidi, Chairman of the All Pakistan Education Consultants Association (APECOP) and Chief Executive of Falcon Education and Consultancy Services. Abidi cited the depreciating value of the rupee (as we highlighted in a previous post) and the recent visa restrictions in the UK as some of the contributing factors in encouraging Pakistani students to take a fresh look at destinations other than the US, UK and Australia, such as Canada. See our video interview with him below to gain further insight into the Pakistani market and how to take advantage of government funding initiatives. Abidi highlighted various factors influencing student decision making:

  • possibility of permanent residence
  • ability to work abroad during studies
  • quality of the education
  • friends and family abroad
  • scholarships and fee discounts
  • international employability

There are two types of schooling systems in Pakistan leading to higher secondary education. One is under the Ministry of Education and the other is private, which incorporates British GCSE O and A Levels and American schooling. Strong GCSE O and A level growth in Pakistan has led to over 46,000 students pursuing an education abroad in the 2010/2011 academic year. One challenge currently facing prospective students is the lack of counseling available in Pakistan. Students generally need to decide if they would like to study abroad when they are at the high school level, but finding out what options are available and what requirements are needed can be a challenge, making quality agents a valuable resource. Abidi cautioned that because agents are unregulated in Pakistan, educators need to do plenty of research and be highly selective when choosing which agents to work with. Resources such as APECOP or the ICEF Agent Training Course's ITAC certification can be useful when searching for potential quality partners. Finally, Abidi stressed that the Pakistani government supports the creation of research and academic links such as twinning joint degrees, trans-national education, distance learning, split site PhDs and joint research. Up to 300.000 USD is available for joint research projects in the fields of agriculture, economic development, gender studies, vocational studies, environmental studies and more. Currently the UK is active in trans-national education, and hopefully the future will see more countries following suit. Abidi confirmed that despite negative criticism and media reports, it is business as usual in Pakistan and people should not be discouraged when considering collaborations with Pakistani partners. Listen to our post-seminar interview with Abidi for more insight on the Pakistani market and how to take advantage of government funding initiatives:

Most Recent

  • The four key trends that will shape international student mobility for the next decade Read More
  • China leverages higher education capacity with expanded TNE partnerships Read More
  • France reports more than 443,000 international students in higher education for 2024/25 Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

The four key trends that will shape international student mobility for the next decade The following has been adapted from the opening plenary given by Editor in Chief Craig Riggs at the...
Read more
China leverages higher education capacity with expanded TNE partnerships As with most statistics about China, the latest higher education figures are a little dizzying. Enrolment in the...
Read more
France reports more than 443,000 international students in higher education for 2024/25 The latest data release from Campus France reports a record-high foreign enrolment in the country. There were 443,500...
Read more
Foreign enrolment in Canadian K-12 held steady in 2024/25 International student enrolment in public school boards in Canada declined marginally this year. The latest data from the...
Read more
OECD tracks global student flows to developed market-based economies The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is an inter-governmental organisation made up of 38 member countries....
Read more
UK ELT reports declining enrolments for first half of 2025 Extending the global pattern reported for 2024 of declining English language learning enrolments, English UK’s quarterly reporting for...
Read more
Global ELT volumes dipped in 2024 Globally, the ELT sector gave back some hard-won, post-pandemic gains in 2024. An annual study of eight top...
Read more
New analysis forecasts marginal growth for foreign enrolment in Australia through 2030 In the five years leading up to the pandemic, Australia’s foreign enrolment grew at an average of 10%...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links