ABSTRACT
A quick sketch of Pakistan's post-secondary educational system is needed in order to identify its unusual aspects. Secondary education ends at the tenth grade. which is referred to as the "matric." The matriculation examination is an external board examination, and it functions as a first sorter of the flow into the various postsecondary streams. 1 A much smaller parallel flow enters from elite private schools, whose students take the external Senior Cambridge Examination. 2 After matriculating, the students graduate into a two-year Fellow of Arts or Sciences (F.A. or F.Sc.) program. The F.A./F.Sc. is also re ferred to as the intermediate level or the higher secondary level. Some schools also offer this option and are consequently referred to as "colleges." If a school ends at the tenth grade, the students can opt for a two-year college, a four-year college, or a university. Although the intermediate level is referred to as higher secondary, strictly speaking it is part of postsecondary in Pakistan. Usually four-year colleges or universities offer the F.A./F.Sc. Students from the Cambridge stream also enter the regular flow at this stage, while a few remain to pursue the Higher Senior Cambridge, which is also a two-year degree.
