Virtual Higher Education in Pakistan
Virtual Higher Education in Pakistan: Online education is creating options for learners in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, particularly in higher education. In Pakistan it involves Higher Education Institutions delivering their educational services in another country rather than the students travelling to the foreign universities to study.
Online services provide internationally recognized education at the doorstep of the students. The tuition fees generated from international students has become not only a new form of international collaboration in education, but also a source of income for many universities around the world, especially in the western developed nations.
How It Is Operated
- Branch Campus: under branch campus arrangements an educational institution of higher studies from the source country establishes a full fledge Branch Campus in the host country to deliver courses and programs to students in their country. This arrangement allows the offering institution to conduct educational activities more effectively than any other modes.
- Franchising or Partnership MoUs: this arrangement allows a provider in the offering country, to authorize a partner in the host country to deliver its courses and programs. All teaching, delivery of courses, management, assessment, profit sharing, awarding of qualifications are arranged in compliance with the host and source country’s regulations and policies. It is considered cost effective but risky as well.
- Articulation & Collaborative Agreement: This model of education allows partial credit transfers towards a program at the offering institutions. This form is based on an institution to institution collaboration between the source country and the host country through and Articulation that allows students to take courses in the host country’s institutions and get credit transfers towards their final degree.
- Distance Learning & Virtual Education: The distance learning and education delivering mode offers courses and program via televisions, radios, computers, internet, video conferencing, skype, virtual blackboard, corresponds, or any other method within or beyond the national boundaries. Students in this delivery mode can directly enroll in.
- Joint Degrees: Under this delivery mode, education providers from different countries work together to offer joint training programs and the students receive qualifications from both providers, or a joint award from the collaborating partners.
Now the main challenge for the host countries is to make foreign higher education locally available that too at an affordable price with national higher education systems globally competitive.