AIOU to bring drop-out students in educational net

JICA, Unicef to collaborate with university through non-formal education

Islamabad

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Unicef at a consultative workshop held here on Wednesday agreed to deepen their collaborative partnership to bring drop-out students in the educational net through non-formal education (NFE).

The event was organised by the University’s Department of Distance, Non-Formal and Continuing education to formulate contents for NFE post graduate diploma course through mutual consultation. Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui who presided over the workshop said the University would continue to collaborate with national and international institutions to promote literacy and to educate drop-out students, particularly females.

Those who addressed the event including JICA’s chief adviser Chiho Ohashi, representative of Unicef John Ekaju, Chairman National Commission for Human Development Razina Alam Khan and Managing Director National Education Foundation Malik Qasier Majeed, besides representatives of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They praised the AIOU’s leading role in expanding educational network for providing free education to the drop-out students through distance learning system. They particularly eulogized the recent initiatives taken by Dr. Shahid Siddiqui in upgrading community-based social services that include provision of free education to prisoners, disabled students, families of martyrs and setting up accessibility centers for visually impaired persons.

They also highlighted the role of their respective organizations in improving literacy rate and quality education in the country, while assuring their support to AIOU in achieving its stipulated target that is ‘Education for All’.

Dr. Shahid Siddiqi briefed the participants about the University’s on-going efforts of strengthening non-formal education system and bringing the education at the door-steps of the people, particularly in the remote regions.

He also spoke about the University’s consistent efforts of promoting applied and meaningful research and disseminating the research’s finding among the end users.  He informed the participants about the steps recently taken to bridge the gap and between the researchers and the industry to address the socio-economic problems of the country, he added.

Earlier, Dean Faculty of Education Dr. Nasir Mahmood and Dr. Muhammad Ajmal highlighted the objectives of the daylong workshop and the new academic programs, being launched by their Department to popularize distance and non-formal continuing education.