Why Pakistani students prefer U.K. to U.S.

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

By Sohel Uddin, NBC News producer 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A recent Washington Post article asserted that there has been a decline in Pakistan applications for student visas in the U.S. as a result of a series of terrorism incidents linked to Pakistanis, including the recent Times Square terrorist attempt.

According to the article, accounts of mistreatment and humiliation as a result of rigorous checks have created a sense of dread for many Pakistanis considering travel to the States, so they are choosing other destinations.

But students from Pakistan have long had a preference for pursuing higher education in the U.K. over the U.S. In part this is because colonial ties have made the Pakistani and British education systems much more in aligned with one another, meaning that entry requirements are easier to attain and the resulting degrees fit in better with Pakistani standards and laws.

Easier to go elsewhere

On a recent day in Islamabad, long lines of people waited to have their applications seen by immigration consultants.

“I am going to the U.K. so I can complete my masters in law. With a British qualification there are better prospects of a job when I come back here,” said Ansar Mehmood, who had just been admitted to University of Central Lancashire, in the north of England.

Standing in line outside the U.K. visa application center, Mehmood said students find it easier to apply for higher education degrees in Britain because the application process is more streamlined and the rules are more in tune with Pakistani standards.

Khalil ur Rehman, who has run a visa consultancy business in Lahore for over 15 years, said he’s seen a similar trend. “Pakistanis apply for mainly U.K. and also Australia [another former British colony], as the education systems are similar,” said Rehman.

However, the statistics division of Pakistan’s government said that while applications for U.S. student visas have traditionally been fewer than for the U.K., Australia and Canada, they have decreased further since the 9/11 attacks.

And Mehmood’s said that his lack of interest in applying to schools in America was deeper than simply which programs have easier admissions policies. “They treat Pakistani people [and] Pakistani students like animals in America,” he asserted. “That is why people don’t like to go over there.”

In particular, Mehmood said his experiences with American border control officers during previous visits discouraged him from even considering the U.S. for school. Other students and applicants we spoke to expressed similar sentiments.

But travel agents and visa consultants in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore said that while the trend to avoid the U.S. accelerated after the 9/11 attacks, it was mostly a matter of unaligned educational systems.

“It is just easier to apply to places like the U.K. and Canada, it always has been,” said a visa consultant at the Aamir Ismail agency in Karachi said. “I don’t think it is that much related to Pakistani treatment.”