LET’S GO CANADA

Pakistan Follow-up Needed

ABROAD PERSPECTIVE

India’s Efforts in Africa

OVER THE COUNTER

American Websites Selling Fake UK Degrees

GLOBE TIPPING

Offering Immunity

LET’S GO CANADA – Pakistan Follow-up Needed

Higher-Edge COO Mel Broitman spent two weeks in Paki- stan in February and found that students at the country’s best high schools believe it is very easy to gain admission to Canadian universities.The understanding has developed as many Canadian universities render admission decisions on final O Level grades and predicted A level marks. There might be no follow-up to ensure students do in fact write A Level exams and post adequate final marks.“The universi- ties don’t specify conditions,” 18 year old Saroop Ijaz told Mr. Broitman at Lahore’s Aitchison College.

“Students love to think that they have fooled the system,” says University of Toronto Senior Policy Coordinator Doug McBean.“The student’s registration is in jeopardy unless he could rescue himself by being able to present GCE A level results that were completely acceptable,”McBean cautions.

When pressed further on whether students are being forth- right, A Level student Rana Asad told Higher-Edge, “Why should we ask the university for the condition. It should be up to them to tell us?”

Last summer, as this issue came to light at the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad, the Visa Office was put in the position of contacting universities to confirm whether the student visa applicant was in fact academically admissible.

ABROAD PERSPECTIVE – India’s Efforts in Africa

Education India 2003, recently held in Nairobi, highlights the strength of India’s overseas recruitment efforts. The fair, which was a gathering of India’s top professional colleges, was jointly hosted by the High Commission of India and Educational Consultants India.The investments seem to be well- targeted, as over 7,000 Kenyan and 3,000 Ethiopian students are said to be currently enrolled at Indian colleges.

In Ethiopia, India is continually filling the need for Indian educational institutions and professors. The two governments have also signed an agreement in which 500 Ethiopian post-graduate students are accepted into Indian institutions of higher education per year.The Indian government currently provides 20 scholarships yearly to Ethiopian students.

Source: “Kenya: Indian Professional Colleges Holds Fair“http://allafrica.com/stories/200302240256.html, The Standard, February 22, 2003
“Ethiopia: International Student’s Day Celebrated“, http://allafrica.com/stories/200302280603.html, Addis Tribune, February 28, 2003

OVER THE COUNTER – American Websites Selling Fake UK Degrees

Websites selling fake degrees from both real and fictitious British universities have been ordered to shut down by fed- eral authorities in the U.S. Tony Allen, an investigator with Enfield Trading Standards (UK-based), said “British universi- ties have a very good reputation worldwide and you cannot award a degree in the UK unless you are an institution ap- proved by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.” James Frey, President of Educational Credential Evaluators Inc., told Higher-Edge this week that “people will be more likely to fake documents from a well-respected school rather than a less attractive one. Schools or countries with a good education record are more likely to be preyed on.”

The racketeers were based in Romania and America, and op- erated out of an address in Palmers Green, North London. The complaints originated from employers wanting to fol- low-up on references, not from purchasers of the fake de- grees who apparently knew what they were getting into.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3561- 602700,00.html

GLOBE TIPPING – Offering Immunity

The type and number of inoculations a traveller should get before departure depends on various factors such as age, pre-existing medical conditions, destination(s), duration of the stay and time of year, and type of environment to be visited (ie. urban vs. rural). Some inoculations require more than one visit to a clinic, so it is recommended that you be- gin the process a few months before your departure date. Also, one may suffer side-effects such as allergic reactions and flu-like symptoms after an injection.

For more information on locale-specific diseases and inoculation requirements, visit: Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/tmp-pmv/pub_e.html

Source: “Your Travel Meds”, Dr. Mark Wise. Canadians Resi- dent Abroad magazine, Winter 2003. Pp 19 & 22.

Please direct all questions and comments to editor@higher-edge.com
http://www.higher-edge.com/publications.htm