Security rationale behind no to Pakistan undergrad degrees: Experts

A joint statement issued on Friday by Indian higher education regulatory bodies that advised college students against enrolling in Pakistan was dictated by security concerns, according to consultants.

It differs from a similar cautioning earlier of Indian students against studying in China and Ukraine for medical programmes, they added.

The statement by University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) making employment and higher studies ineligible for Indians, who have degrees from Pakistani institutions, also plugs a route to repatriation for some.

“Any Indian national/overseas citizen of India who intends to take admission in any degree college/educational institution of Pakistan shall not be eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India on the basis of such educational qualifications (in any subject) acquired in Pakistan,” read the statement.

“However, migrants and their children who have acquired higher education degrees in Pakistan and have been awarded citizenship by India would be eligible for seeking employment in India after obtaining security clearance from the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs),” it added.

According to Adarsh Khandelwal, co-founder and CEO of overseas education firm Collegify, the move is geopolitical and keeps in mind India’s national security. The notification is not directed solely at Indian students travelling to Pakistan, he said. A lot of Indian origin immigrants with passports of countries such as Canada and Australia and from Europe opt for college in Pakistan due to cheaper programmes and scholarship collaborations with some international universities, he added.

“They then try to come back to India for employment and higher studies, which the government is looking to prevent as a security measure,” Khandelwal told Business Standard.

Citing government data, Sumeet Jain, co-founder of Yocket (also an overseas education consulting firm), said that the notification won’t have a significant impact as the number of students travelling from India to Pakistan is just over 200 currently. “Apart from India, Pakistan does not figure among the top 10 overseas education destinations for several countries. There is not much to read into the statement.”

Khandelwal pointed out that mostly students from Jammu and Kashmir and a few other states, who face cultural struggles or discrimination in Indian institutions, travel to Pakistan.

“Also, Pakistani academics not only go on to seek post-doctoral studies or employment in countries such as the UK and the US but they also have collaborations for scholarship programmes. This attracts a lot of Indians studying in other countries, especially in the West, to choose education in Pakistan before seeking repatriation in India,” he added.

Some undergraduate courses in Pakistan are of a two-year duration, which also tends to attract OCI (overseas citizen of India) students from other countries.

As many as 84 Pakistani institutions featured in the recent QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022, of which three were in the top 100 and 16 among the top 200 universities. The top institutions from Pakistan in the QS University Rankings 2022 were National University of Sciences and Technology (358th position), Quaid-i-Azam University (378) and Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (398).

Last month, the UGC and AICTE also warned Indian students against studying in China and Ukraine where the medical programmes are incompatible with India due to either quality or duration of course and internship.

Consultants believe such advisories are meant to alert Indian students so that they won’t land up with degrees that are incompatible with Indian regulations.