Akbar Notezai
In Washington, D.C., China has a bad reputation for the way it treats its Muslim minorities. But views differ greatly in many majority-Muslim countries in Asia. Educational programs and exchanges are a key part of this. Pakistan is an exemplar: Estimates suggest that more than 28,000 students studied in China in 2019, making it the top destination for outward-bound students.
Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, said in Beijing that Pakistan is one of the top three countries in terms of sending students China. In 2018, the most recent year that China’s Ministry of Education released statistics on the numbers of students from different countries, the top sender countries were South Korea (50,600 students), Thailand (28,608), Pakistan (28,032), India (23,198), and the U.S. (20,996).
China’s government offers scholarships that can be generous, but several families I spoke to told me they had financed their own or their children’s studies in China, especially for medical degrees. Based on interviews with 25 Pakistani students or parents of students, other popular programs that Chinese universities offer to Pakistani students include Chinese language, engineering, and computer science programs. Educational consulting companies act as brokers between potential students and Chinese universities. One such firm currently advertises an academic year of tuition fees for a medical degree and lodging for $3,000.
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