Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Regional heads of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) at their two-day conference held on Monday pledged to give further boost to their academic efforts promoting quality education in the country.

While praising the academic achievements made during the last four-years under the leadership of AIOU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui, they noted that the university has built itself as a research-based educational institution by producing quality journals and holding a number of international and national conferences for creating and disseminating knowledge in various disciplines.

The opening session of the conference took stock of the academic work pursued in the recent years that enhanced the university’s role providing best possible educational facilities to its about 1.3 million students across the country through various administrative and academic programmes and activities.

The session, presided over by the AIOU vice chancellor was addressed among others by the university’s deans Dr Syed Zafar Ilyas, Dr Mohyuddin Hashmi, Dr Samina Awan, Department of Distance & Non-Formal Education chairman Dr Muhammad Ajmal and director regional services Dr Inamullah Sheikh. The university’s registrar Dr Muhammad Zaigham Qadeer was also present on the occasion. The conference was organised by the Directorate of Regional Services.

Participants appreciated the visionary approach and administrative and academic skill of AIOU VC Dr Shahid Siddiqui that helped to enhance the university’s image and trust among the students. There have been record students’ enrollment in the recent years and the cash-inflow was also well-maintained.

In order to develop research-based culture, the faculty’s members were given special incentives for their research papers and projects while library and laboratories’ network was upgraded in an unprecedented way.

It was noted that the university also achieved the highest number of Higher Education Commission’s funded projects as well as winning indexing agency’s status.

It also stepped up its social responsibilities, serving the cause of marginalised sections of the people, providing free education to disabled persons, prisoners, drop-out girls and transgender groups. On the initiative of the VC, Matriculation-level free education was made available to the students of Balochistan and Tribal Areas.

During this period, special efforts were made to make the university’s 44 regional offices’ role more effective and result-oriented in the educational pursuits. They were strengthened and empowered to serve the students and to achieve the target of ‘Education for All’.

Dr Shahid Siddiqui in his remarks said he made his humble efforts providing enabling environment to the staff members to deliver best in their respective field. He gave them respect, trust and space to work. He thanked the regional directors for their overwhelming response to his efforts.

For overcoming the staff-shortage and giving due promotion to the employees in their next grades, the university’s Selection Board and the Promotion Committee Department met eight and 10 times respectively.

There were some fixed challenges and targets like revision of curriculum, professional development, smart use of new technology, promoting students’ support system and launching of new academic programs that have been achieved to a great extent. He will be completing his four-year tenure next month, with a sense of pride and satisfaction, he added.

Published in Daily Times, September 25^th 2018.