Higher education in US: Students throng to expo ‘for a better future’

Official says number of Pakistani students in US increasing

KARACHI: For the eighth education expo organised by the US Consulate, around 23 universities stepped forward to help Pakistani students in the pursuit of education in the United States.

"This year we had 450 registrations beforehand," said manager Fulbright outreach and EducationUSA adviser, Umair Khan. The education expo was a part of the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan and EducationUSA's eight South Asia tour to promote US universities.





Khan informed that their teams visited different schools and colleges to inform students and encourage them to apply to the US. Talking about popular courses among students, he said around 60% go for higher studies while 40% go for their bachelor's.

Sharing statistics, he said the number of students going to the US for studies has increased by 8% since last year. "There are over 5,100 students who have gone this year alone while there are more than 11,000 Pakistani students studying in the US at present," he said, adding that they have a goal to increase the number to10,000 students each year in the coming five years.



Rukhsana Iqbal, a mother of two, visited the expo to find a good university for her son. "I want him to go abroad, study and come back to make a better living," Iqbal said, adding Pakistani universities do not offer diverse subjects.

The associate director of recruitment at SCAD Hong Kong, Jack Muir, said they get 10 Pakistani students every year and are expecting 15 this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th,  2016.