A large number of students from Pakistan wishing to pursue higher education overseas attended an expo at a local hotel participated by 15 Australian universities and colleges.
The expo is part of the Australian Education Roadshow organised by the Australian Education Office (AEO) Pakistan, which has planned to move along 06 cities of which Lahore and Islamabad have been visited, while Karachi, Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad are the remaining destinations.
The Islamabad expo on Wednesday was the second of the visits.
Representatives from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney, Griffith University, Curtin University, Canberra Institute of Technology, La Trobe, Deakin University and University of Wollongong were present at the event.
Majority of students were interested to seek information about universities that offer scholarships or funded programmes. “I have visited desks of several institutes but options offering scholarships are almost close to none,” said Adeel Atif, a business administration student from Bahria University.
Hammad, a representative at the UNSW desk, explained that the Australian government did not offer funded programmes for course work (graduate, undergraduate) but for research programmes (PhD). He said that most students inquired about programmes such as engineering, management sciences and business administration.
Haripur, Quetta, Nowshera students barred
Misbah Urooj, representative from University of Canberra, said the Australian government had officially disallowed admission to students from areas such as Haripur, Quetta and Nowshera.
CEO and Resident Director of AEO Pakistan Saad Mahmood elaborated that the Australian government and universities encouraged students who wanted to study only and not get involved in other businesses.
“People from the certain areas have been prohibited as they were found indulging in activities other than the purpose of study in Australia,” he said, adding students were required to sit in a Genuine Temporary Entrant assessment which helped ensure they were serious to pursue their studies.
Zahid Saleem, a student from National University of Science and Technology, said the expo provided an opportunity to meet officials of various universities face-to-face that helped answered question and clear confusions which could not be sorted out online. “That is why I am here,” he remarked.
Time scheduled for Karachi is January 31 at the Marriot, Multan January 31 as well at Ramada Hotel, Faisalabad on February 1 at Hotel One and lastly to Peshawar at PC Hotel on of February 1 too.
