Education - Go To UK - US Magazine, The News International

Education
Go to the UK

By Waqas Hassan Sharif

After 9/11, going to the US to obtain higher education has become quite difficult. Getting admission into the American universities is the least of the problem the aspiring students face; the real catch is obtaining the visa. The other alternative is going to the UK, as the visa is not a big problem if one's papers are in order. After all, why not go for higher studies to a place which has centuries' old tradition of excellence in education?

One important thing: don't offer fake marks sheets or certificates to obtain admission; all your documents are sent for verification to the issuing authorities! Don't get bugged, folks, since there have been cases of doctored mark sheets.

What makes the UK the most attractive place for students is not David Beckham, or the birth place of Harry Potter for that matter, but the unique features of academic quality matched with a truly international experience, going beyond traditional modes of learning.

In order to cater to the needs of the students and increasing access to world class learning opportunities in the UK, British Council Education UK team organized a national counselling week for the students in the four major cities of Pakistan.

The counselling week started from the 26th of January as the British Council Education UK team along with school and university counselors, UK alumni and country based representatives of the UK institutions started off with a seminar in Peshawar and then travelled to Islamabad, Lahore and finally to Karachi, where the last series of the event concluded in a local hotel. The British High Commission's visa team also participated in the event.

In his opening speech at Karachi, Director British Council, Sindh and Baluchistan, Syed Mashood Rizvi highlighted the growing opportunities of higher education in the UK and also provided details about the new programmes of the British council.

In this session, the new British Deputy High Commissioner, Robert W. Gibson, also gave a speech highlighting the relationship between the two countries in the field of education. He spoke about ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's initiative which is now in its second phase and is the UK's international strategy for the promotion of student exchange programmes and building sustainable partnerships between the UK's and Pakistani educational institutions. The British Council managed to reach about 4000 students directly and gave useful guidance to students.

During the counselling week, students had the opportunity to have one to one counselling sessions on study opportunities in the UK, career choices, application procedures, scholarships, IELTS, applying for UK visa and life in the UK.

The positives that students find in going to the UK for higher education are many: shorter duration of degrees as in the UK an undergraduate degree takes three years to complete and a master's in only one year, opportunity to work after degree completion, access to world class learning along with a quality social experience, to name few of the most attractive features of education in the United Kingdom.