According to the statistics issued by the Pakistani embassy in China, there are around 22,000 Pakistani students enrolled in different disciplines and levels of study in China. For the year 2016, there were 18,626 Pakistani students in China and in the year 2017 alone, nearly 2,500 students from Pakistan joined universities in China. This implies to a 15 - 20% increase in the number of Pakistani students in 2017 which can be considered a significant increase as compared to an overall international student growth of around 10% for China.

According to the officials from Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Pakistani government is providing PhD scholarships for students who get admission into the top five universities in China.  Very recently, the government of Pakistan sponsored 50 students to study in China for a year.

In the last four to five years, dynamics for student mobility from Pakistan have changed dramatically with more students now considering China a potential destination for higher studies. Students going for medicine studies is the highest due to medicine being the most favoured profession in Pakistan. Every year, thousands of students apply for admission in the state-owned medical colleges but due to limited seats and tough competition, many fail to get through.

One can appreciate China’s rising popularity amongst Pakistani students. They have relaxed admission criteria for Pakistani students and offer education at a tuition fee two to three times less than local educational institutions. Visa policy for Pakistani students is not tough and parents feel comfortable sending their children to China.  

British Council Pakistan strives to support universities, institutions and other education decision makers in their advancement and partnership development strategies to consequently strengthen collaboration within local universities and UK institutions.

For details on partnership development, contact the IES Pakistan team for customised consultancy offers.

To contact the IES Pakistan team, please get in touch with Saman Imtiaz, Head IES - Pakistan at saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.pk

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