KARACHI: The two-day 19th Dawn Education Expo opened on Saturday at a local hotel.
An excellent opportunity for students interested in higher education to speak with representatives from multiple national and international universities, the Dawn Education Expo is a collaborative and informative forum that fosters meaningful exchange and collaboration.
More than 40 booths were set up, mainly from universities in Asia and Europe. Several people from the UK, Ireland, Germany, UAE, Turkey and of course Pakistan provided advice and printed materials such as prospectuses.
The stalls were also equipped with LED screens that displayed the beautiful campus and its breathtaking surroundings.
Most of the university representatives at the stalls were themselves alumni of those universities. The advice they gave me was very important.
Mohammad Raheel from Istanbul Aydin University received his MBA from the same university.
He said most of the students who come to him are interested in the scholarships offered by the university. “Pakistani students have a mindset of seeking scholarships, but first they need to take a hard look at their grades to see if they are eligible for a scholarship,” said Dawn.
Giving his own example, he said that he initially paid the tuition fees from his own pocket because he did not have the grade point average (GPA) or scholarship percentage, but he actually earned the grades he needed. He said things have changed since his first semester. . “That’s when I actually applied for and received the scholarship,” he said.
There are also several consultancy firms that only provide advice, such as Study Advisor UK, JnS Education, Sun Consulting (Pvt) Limited, The Next Study Abroad Consultancy, Conzept Connection, Study in Germany, etc. There is a huge need for proper counseling services. It reminded me of. Our country's educational institutions also need to understand this.
One also met two cousins, Arham Ali and Areeb Ali. One was aiming to graduate, and the other was aiming for a master's degree. Both of my cousins wanted to study in Ireland and had come to the Irish Education Department to do so. They said they chose Ireland for their studies because they had uncles who were able to stay there. He had also offered to sponsor them.
Anousia Mazar Farouk, head of Sultan Zainal Abidin University (Ouniza), said that foreign degrees are always better than domestic degrees. “I have a PhD in Malaysia and already have a good job. I know someone in Pakistan who already has a PhD and he is still struggling in the job market. ” she stated her claim.
A group of friends, Anas, Abrar, Inzamam, Azhar and Sabir were also there. Speaking to Dawn, three of them said they wanted to study in Germany, and two of them wanted to get into a university in the UK.
The Dawn Education Expo concludes on Sunday.
Published at Dawn on January 28, 2024
