Educational institutions and study programmes

Below, we explain what types of educational institutions and degree programmes there are in Pakistan. We also explain how we check whether these are recognised and accredited. We check the recognition and accreditation to make sure that the quality is sufficient. We give the necessary information per educational sector.

Students are educated at a school, but take their exams from a board. For this reason, you only have to check the recognition of that board, not of the school.

Checking the recognition of boards

The Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) checks the secondary education boards. In 2021, the IBCC recognised the following boards:

Please note: there are always changes, so this overview may be incomplete. If you see a diploma from another board, you can ask the IBCC if the board is recognised.

In secondary education, you should especially pay attention to whether a student has a recognised diploma. Among other things, this means that the diploma should be awarded by a board. We describe the recognised secondary education diplomas on our webpage about Pakistani primary and secondary education.

There are different types of higher education institutions:

• universities; and
• degree-awarding institutions.

Universities

Universities are allowed to award degrees, for example a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Students can also obtain other diplomas, such as a postgraduate diploma. Some universities offer study programmes in various fields of study, other universities are more specialised. For example, there are specialised universities that only offer technical study programmes.

Please note: universities often supervise various educational institutions. These supervised institutions are called affiliated colleges. Students who study at an affiliated college receive their degree or diploma from the university.

Degree-awarding institutions

Degree-awarding institutions are also allowed to award degrees. Just like universities, they can offer study programmes for degrees and other diplomas. Degree-awarding institutions are often called ‘institutes’ or ‘colleges’.

All Pakistani higher education institutions can be public or private.