INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY:
Pakistan is a significant exporter of international students globally. According to UNESCO statistics, the number of outbound Pakistani degree-seeking students grew by 70 percent over the last decade, from 31,156 in 2007 to 53,023 in 2017.
While that number is dwarfed by the more than 330,000 degree-seeking students from neighboring India, consider that Pakistan’s outbound mobility ratio—the percentage of international students among all students—is almost three time as high (2.7 percent in 2017) as that of India (1 percent). This means that it’s far more common for Pakistani students to study abroad and broaden their academic horizons in another country than it is for Indian students.
Another important driver is the lack of university seats and high-quality study programs in Pakistan, particularly at the graduate level.
In general, Pakistani students have increasingly diversified their international study destinations in recent years.
Inbound Student Mobility :
Given Pakistan’s political instability, weak economy, and the shortcomings of its higher education system, Pakistan is not a significant destination country for international students.
There are also sizable numbers of international students from various countries coming to Pakistan to study at Islamic universities or madrasas.
THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF PAKISTAN:
Pakistan’s education system has evolved substantially from both its Islamic and British historical roots. It has improved greatly in the 20th and 21st centuries, but still tends to rely too heavily on rote memorization and outdated teaching and examination methods.
While great strides have been made in improving literacy and participation rates, the education system remains largely elitist, with access to the best educational opportunities available only to the more affluent or well-connected.
Administration of the Education System:
Pakistan is a federation composed of four provinces, the capital territory of Islamabad and the two autonomous regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Peshawar. The four provinces are Baluchistan, Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was until 2010 known as the North-West Frontier Province. Punjab, the most populous province, is home to more than 50 percent of Pakistan’s population. Sindh is the second most populous province; it contains the crowded metropolis Karachi, one of the world’s largest cities proper, with some 15 million people.
While Pakistan had a comparatively centralized system of government throughout much of its history, there has been a trend toward decentralization since the early 2000s, notably in education. While matters like the development of school curricula used to be a shared responsibility of the federal and provincial governments, many of these responsibilities have now been delegated to the provinces.
The federal government has primary oversight of both higher education and technical and vocational education (VET). The main federal oversight body in higher education is the Higher Education Commission (HEC), a constitutionally established autonomous institution responsible for the regulation, accreditation, and funding of higher education in the country.
Academic Calendar and Language of Instruction:
Higher education institutions (Hems) generally follow a semester system—two semesters of 16 to 18 weeks that run roughly from January through May and then August through December. While some variations in structure exist, the HEC has recently put forth overall guidelines for the implementation of a uniform semester system for hems.
The academic calendar in elementary and secondary schools runs roughly from February through June and September through January, with a break that coincides with monsoon season.
While there are more than 70 languages spoken in Pakistan, including the provincial languages Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Bloch, the country’s official languages are Urdu and English. English has been the main language of instruction at the elementary and secondary levels since colonial times.
ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATION :
Education in Pakistan is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of five and 16, or up through grade 10, or what’s referred to as “matriculation” in Pakistan. It is a fundamental right accorded by Article 25 A of the constitution. However, as noted, participation in compulsory education is far from universal, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions.
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