helpful for all my family,” he said pointing towards his box of computer.
Waqar also mentioned a very special reason for his excitement. “There are going to be long loadshedding hours in coming months. My studies will not get interrupted with this laptop,” he said. He also appreciated the free Evo stick and balance with the computers.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister appreciated the AIOU for making distance learning system successful, catering million of students every year. The university, he noted enhanced its educational rating over the years and now it has turned into ‘power-engine’ for upgrading the educational output through its strong infrastructure network throughout the country. He hoped that the University will even take lead in launching online courses on mass-scale.
Engineer Baligh-ur-Rahman also highlighted the achievements of the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the educational sector, stating “A record budget of Rs 70 billion was allocated for HEC to promote higher education. If we succeeded to develop our youth through education and training, they could play their vital role in the socio-economic development of the country,” he said adding that many programs had been launched for the benefit of youth across the country including Youth Skills Training, Laptop Program and Youth Loans. “Despite of limited resources, the government has also injected Rs 100 billion for Youth programs,” he said.
HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said they were successfully executing the laptop scheme, while maintaining its transparency and ensuring assembling of laptops indigenously. “About one hundred thousand laptops will be distrusted among the talented students annually,” he said adding that the HEC was also meeting the educational expenditure of millions of students, under the directives of the prime minister.
AIOU Vice Chancellor Dr. Shahid Siddiqi spoke about achievements of AIOU in producing skilled manpower and professionals of high standard in various disciplines. He said that the university was paying greater attention to impart higher education with quality and conducting research. “The University is aggressively working to implement its mission ‘Education for all’ in letter and spirit.” He hoped that the laptops will help the youth to carry on their applied research work, meeting the socio-economic needs of the country.