All Indian nationals and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) must obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) before taking admission to any engineering and technology course in Pakistan, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said on October 29.
The technical education regulator has also asked aspiring students to apply for clearance in the format specified by the council.
A notice released by the AICTE on its website read: “An Indian National/Overseas Citizen of India who intends to take admission in higher education in Engineering and Technology Programme in Pakistan shall require to obtain No Objection Certificate from AICTE. The student should apply for such clearance in prescribed proforma available on the AICTE website.”
Explaining the need to obtain a NOC before seeking admission to engineering colleges in Pakistan, the AICTE explained that at times, the “validity and equivalence” of such foreign degrees are not at par with the degrees awarded to students passing out from Indian institutions. Due to this, students passing out from foreign universities face issues while seeking jobs or higher education in India, despite spending such a large sum as fees.
AICTE said there have been instances where students went to foreign countries to obtain UG and PG degrees in technical courses, only to find later that those are not recognised in India. The students then have to run from pillar to post for their authentication and equivalence.
Therefore, to avoid putting any financial burden on parents, the council has cautioned students to check the validity of the degrees before applying.
