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September 08, 1965

Note: The Convention entered into force, August 28, 1967.

Considering their common desire to strengthen the fabric of peace and freedom and to uphold the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law and to promote the economic well-being and development of all peoples in the Treaty Area;

Having undertaken to strengthen their free institutions and to cooperate with one another in the further development of economic measures, including technical assistance, designed both to promote economic progress and social well-being and to further the individual and collective efforts of Governments towards these ends;

Considering that these objectives would be furthered by making the intellectual resources of each member country freely available to the people of the other member countries ;

Considering that the university constitutes one of the principal sources of the intellectual activity of the country;

Considering that their nationals should be afforded all possible facilities to enter a university of their choice in the territories of all Contracting Parties;

Considering that such facilities, which are also desirable in the interest of freedom of movement from country to country, require the removal of present obstacles in the equivalence of admission requirements to universities and in the mutual recognition of degrees;

Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

FIRST ENTRANCE TO UNIVERSITIES

1. Subject to paragraph 7 of this Article, favourable consideration should be given to applications submitted by nationals of each Contracting Party for admission to a university of their choice in the territory of another Contracting Party in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) Students from Pakistan and Thailand who have successfully completed their elementary, secondary and higher secondary education, spread over twelve years, provided by the educational systems of the two countries, should be equated and allowed to enroll for the degree course in either of the two countries;

(b) Students from the Philippines who have finished their elementary and secondary education in the Philippines, and are seeking admission to a university in Pakistan, should successfully complete the studies provided in Class 12 of the higher secondary stage in Pakistan before being enrolled for the degree course, except in the case of engineering and medicine;

(c) Students from the Philippines who have finished their elementary and secondary education in the Philippines, and are seeking admission to a university in Thailand, should successfully complete the studies provided in the last year of the higher secondary level in Thailand before being enrolled for the degree course;

(d) Alternatively, such students from the Philippines who have finished their elementary and secondary education in the Philippines may successfully complete studies for one year at one of the universities of the Philippines before being enrolled to the degree course in Pakistan or Thailand.

(e) Students from Pakistan and Thailand who have successfully completed their twelve years of elementary, secondary and higher secondary education in Pakistan or Thailand shall be given appropriate credits, corresponding roughly to a year's work in the Philippines, on seeking admission to a degree course in a university of the Philippines;

(f) In the case of students from the Philippines who have to complete successfully one year study at higher secondary level in Pakistan, where the study of the national language is compulsory at this stage, a special course of an elementary nature should be offered in a national language. In Thailand, where a knowledge of Thai is necessary for university studies, students from the Philippines should be given a special course in the Thai language so that they may acquire a working knowledge of it.

2. Students from Pakistan and Thailand who want to enroll in the first degree course in medicine in the Philippines must hold a Bachelor of Science degree from any university provided they have taken the special subject required by the Philippine law.

3. Students from the Philippines who have undergone ten years of education, and intend to seek admission to medical and engineering degree courses in Pakistan, will be required to complete the science subject for both Classes 11 and 12 which are prerequisite for the pursuit of engineering or medical studies. They will be exempted from all other subjects.

4. Each Contracting Party agrees that universities should give appropriate credit for special proficiency already attained in certain fields of study at the time of seeking admission.

5. Each Contracting Party recognizes the obstacles created by the difference in the media of instruction and agrees that universities should be urged to organize, where they are needed, special language courses for foreign students.

6. Each Contracting Party recognizes the need for providing special remedial courses by universities of the country offering admission to students of other member countries who are found particularly deficient in certain fields of study.

7. With due recognition given to the autonomy of the universities in the territories of the Contracting Parties, admission to any university should be considered in the light of existing requirements for admission, such limitations as may be imposed by existing facilities in each locality, and such reservation ot places as may be provided in any agreement or otherwise between member countries bilaterally or multilaterally.

ARTICLE 2

ADMISSION TO POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

1. Each Contracting Party recognizes for the purpose of admission to courses leading to master's degree or equivalent in its territory, bachelor's degree awarded by the universities of the countries signatory to this Convention.

2. Each Contracting Party recognizes for the purpose of admission to doctoral studies in the universities situated in its territory, master's degrees awarded in the territory of each other Contracting Party, subject to the following provisions:

(a) Students from Pakistan and Thailand who have already attained a master's degree should be exempted from the comprehensive examination which is a prerequisite to thesis work for a doctorate at the
University of the Philippines;

(b) Students from the Philippines who do not hold a master's degree but have passed the comprehensive examination referred to at section (a) above will be admitted to work for a doctorate in Pakistan and in Thailand.

3. In fields such as medicine, dentistry and veterinary science, in which the first degree conferred is called a doctoral degree in one country and a bachelor's degree in another, these degrees shall be recognized as equivalent for the purpose of admission to higher studies.

ARTICLE 3

EXEMPTION FROM ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS

Where admissions are made on the basis of competitive entrance examinations, the Contracting Parties agree to exempt students proceeding from one country to another from taking those examinations. The Contracting Parties agree that urrivesities should admit students from other member countries on the basis of the prior attainments of student in terms of conditions provided by this Convention.

ARTICLE 4

RECOGNITION OF DEGREES

1. Each Contracting Party recognizes the bachelor's degrees awarded by the universities of the other Contracting Parties as equivalent to the bachelor's degrees awarded by the universities in its own territory.

2. Each Contracting Party recognizes the master's degrees awarded by the universities of the other Contracting Parties as equivalent to the master's degrees awarded by the universities in its own territory.

3. Each Contracting Party recognizes the doctorates awarded by the universities of the other Contracting Parties as equivalent to the doctorates awarded by the universities in its own territory.

ARTICLE 5

EQUIVALENCES OF CERTIFICATES AND DIPLOMAS

Each Contracting Party shall determine the equivalences of certificates and diplomas, given by recognized educational institutions in the territory of any other Contracting Party, other than those given as a token of the attainment of the bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, with similar certificates and diplomas, given by recognized educational institutions in its own territory, according to the following criteria:

(a) Academic requirements prior to admission to the certificate and diploma course concerned;

(b) Duration of the certificate and the diploma course;

(c) Contents of the certificate and the diploma course.

ARTICLE 6

1. For the purpose of the present Convention, the term "universities" shall denote:

(a) universities; and

(b)1 institutions regarded as being of university level by the Contracting Party in whose territory they are situated and having the right to confer qualifications of university level.

2. Where admission to universities situated in the territory of a Contracting Party and the recognition of degrees, diplomas and certificates are outside the control of the States, that Contracting Party shall transmit the text of this Convention to the universities and other appropriate authorities and use its best endeavours to obtain the acceptance by the universities and the authorities concerned of the principles seated in the preceding paragraphs.

ARTICLE 7 1

.NOTHING IN THE PRESENT CONVENTION SHALL BE DEEMED:

(a) To affect any more favourable provision concerning the recognition of foreign qualifications for admission to universities contained in an existing Convention which a Contracting Party may be signatory to or to render less desirable the conclusion of any further such Convention by any of the Contracting Parties; or

(b) To prejudice the obligation of any person to comply with the laws and regulations enforced in the territory of any Contracting Party concerning the entry, residence and departure of foreigners; or

(c) To prevent any changes in the requirements for university entrance which the universities of any member country may desire to introduce; or

(d) To prevent changes in the structure of pre-university and university education which any member country may desire to introduce in its own territorv.

ARTICLE 8

1. This Convention, signed by the representatives of the Government of Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization.

2. The Convention shall come into force as soon as instruments of ratification have been deposited.

3. The Secretary-General of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization shall notify all the members of SEATO of the entry into force of the Convention, the names of the Contracting Parties which have ratified it and the deposit of all instruments of ratification.

ARTICLE 9

1. Each Contracting Party, after the coming into force of this Convention, shall annually provide the Secretary-General of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization with a written statement regarding the implementation of the provisions of the Convention.

2. The Secretary-General of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization shall communicate to the other Contracting Parties the information received from each of them in accordance with paragraph 1 above.

ARTICLE 10

1. Each Contracting Party undertakes to keep the other Contracting Parties informed of any changes in the structure of its system of education and requirements for admission likely to affect the agreements recorded in the present Convention.

2. In case any Contracting Party desires a revision .of the provisions of this Convention consequent upon the introduction of the changes mentioned at paragraph 1 of this Article, the Signatories shall establish an appropriate procedure for such a revision.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Convention.

Done at Quezon City, Philippines this 8th day of September, 1965 in a single copy in the English language which shall remain deposited in the archives of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization. The Secretary-General shall transmit certified copies to each of the signatory and acceding Governments.

For the Government of Pakistan

(Sgd.) MOHAMED MASOOD

For the Government of the Republic of the Philippines

(Sgd.) MAURO MENDEZ

For the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand

(Sgd.) THANAT KHOMAN

Understanding of the Government of Thailand

The Government of Thailand signs the present Convention on the understanding that the provisions of its ArticJe 2, paragraph 2, concerning admission to doctoral studies shall not apply to Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand, which reserves the right to admit to doctoral candidacy only those applicants who shall have first obtained a master's degree from its own faculty to which admission to doctoral studies is sought.

Understanding and Reservation by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines signs the present Convention on the understanding that the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 2, thereof concerning admission to doctoral studies shall not apply to graduate students from Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand. Any university in the Republic of the Philippines may impose the same requirements on students from Thammasat University as are required by said University of students from the Philippines.