Nine Foreign Universities Stop Efforts to Create Engineering Schools in Parkistan
(Entry by Jason E. Lane)
PROPHE Summary:
Citing security concerns, nine foreign universities have decided not to support the development of several new engineering schools in Pakistan. The nation had promised to spend more than $4 billion on the projects and had already begun to build some of the campuses, which government officials hoped would start offering courses next year. However, the home institutions, located in Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and South Korea, were having difficulty recruiting faculty and staff, despite aggressive compensation packages.
For the full stories, see Chronicle of Higher Education May 23,2008. Security Fears Prompt 9 Foreign Universities to Pull Out of Pakistan by Neelakantan, S http://chronicle.com/news/index.php?id=4542&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en.
Daily Times May 23,2008. Tension Rising Between Musharraf and Zardari by Qaisar, R. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\05\23\story_23-5-2008_pg1_8
PROPHE Observation:
Many developing nations are actively pursuing the importation of education to assist with building capacity and gaining prestige for their tertiary education systems. And, many institutions in developed nations, such as those listed above as well as the United States, Australia, and the UK, have been eager to expand their global market share and develop relationships in the emerging education markets. The large number of successful cross-border initiatives has led to institutions in several countries looking to take advantage of new markets in other countries. The rapid increase of initiatives has led institutions to explore the development of risky partnerships in risky environments and this story illustrates some of the problems institutions may encounter with overeager importing governments and unstable regulatory and safety environments.
