KARACHI, June 30: Around 108 students have been selected on merit basis in the year 2005, to pursue their higher studies in French varsities. The new batch of students going to France confirms by its size the growing interest of Pakistani students for getting French higher education. This year shows a big trend in engineering and telecommunication fields. Selected students are supported by the French government which grants them free tuition in the French varsities and by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan who gives for most of them full PhD scholarships.

The students have gone through a tough selection managed first by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and followed by interviews with French professors in December last.

A French officer is placing them in French varsities according to their objectives and competence.

All of them have completed at least 4 years of higher studies and are going for Masters or PhDs.

Students arrive in France on July 1, spend one night in Paris and then driven to their French language training centres where they’ll have to complete two month of intensive French language classes.

By mid September, they would be ready to be integrated in their varsities.

Tuition fees are provided by the French government for all foreign and national students, in 92 public universities spread all over the country.—PPI