Alvi hails AIOU’s role in promotion of education

ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi Friday appreciated the role of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in promoting education and alleviating illiteracy in the country. President Alvi, who is also Chancellor of the AIOU, while presiding over a high-level meeting of the varsity at the President House, said the AIOU was playing a significant role in socio-economic development of the country by educating the masses of far-flung areas. He urged upon the university authorities to adopt a new information and communication technology for strengthening teaching and learning system through distance education in the country. “To cope up with the present-day challenges in the field of education and make the quality of education compatible with that of the rest of the world, our educational institutions need to use the latest technology in the field,” the president added. The president also appreciated the presence of AIOU in almost every area of Pakistan, especially in far-flung areas of Balochistan, Sindh, and KP. Professor Dr. Zia-ul-Qayyum, Vice Chancellor of the AIOU, briefed the president about the university affairs on this occasion. He informed the president that currently around 14,000,00 students were enrolled in various academic programmes and courses being offered by the university. Since its establishment, around 35,000,00 students have graduated from this mega university, he added. He also informed the Chancellor that the varsity is adopting the new and emerging technologies to transform its operations from manual to digital/ online mode.