Pakistani students still prefer UK

Even after few Pakistani students were held and deported back home, a large number of students from Pakistan are still looking for admission in overseas universities, and UK remains their preferred destination even now.

Nine students from Pakistan were held by a UK agency on doubt of their link to terrorism and were later released and deported back home without any charge against them.

If student visa consultants are to be believed, in spite of the fact that some students are not willing to get registered in UK universities, large number of students does not even bother asking the attitude of agencies towards Pakistani students in the UK. However, there has been a shift in the mindset of students in the law few months and many of them now prefer other countries, said the consultants.

The consultants said that right now, Australia has become the centre of attraction for students due to sterner visa rules of the UK.

A consultant trained by the British Council, Amanat Ali Anjum, said that it is unlikely that any change would occur in applications for student visa at the British embassy. He said that every year about eight to nine thousand students were admitted in different universities and that number of applications were higher than those getting through.

Tanveer, from Falcon Education and Consultancy Services, said that following the deportation of Pakistani students from the country, there has been a change in the trend of filing applications with educational institutions in Britain and students are looking for alternatives like Germany and Sweden.