‘Distance learning need of hour’

Islamabad : Pakistan needs skills development and vocational training programmes through distance learning initiatives, said Prof Dr Nabi Bux Jummani, former dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).

Talking to ‘The News’, he said that distance education can bring about a change in the society if it is in line with the industry. He said media and the appliances associated with it are helpful in promotion of distance learning.

“In our country, everyone cannot afford to go to university. Poverty and mobility are problems in both urban and rural areas. But information technology has helped us defeat these impediments in the path of education,” he said.

He said people with an urge to study can study at home or their workplace through different techniques of distance learning. He said Pakistan is among the first countries in South Asia to have a distance learning facility in the form of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). He said the university is catering to tens of thousands of students.