Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has recently entered into a collaborative partnership with Plan International and Sanjh Preet, a private NGO, to promote female literacy in the backwards and less-developed regions of Pakistan through a non-formal distance-learning system.

An agreement in this regard was also signed here on Wednesday, in the presence of Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr Shahid Siddiqui who assured of the varsity’s active participation in the government’s provision of special educational facilities to drop out female students. Under the agreement, several First Track Learning Centers (FTLC’s) will also be set up in the country for middle-level education. In the first phase of the project, a learning centre, based on the AIOU’s indigenous model of education will be established in the district of Nankana Sahib in order to accommodate as many as 1,200 girls. Similar models will also be gradually replicated in other parts of the country to target the marginalised rural families, Siddiqui noted at the signing ceremony. These projects are being set up to connect the educational institutions to the society, he added.

The varsity has already successfully implemented its open-schooling model for middle-class students in districts of Vehari, Chakwal and Thatta. The schools have facilitated thousands of out-of-school girls, who were previously deprived of the basic facility of education, due to either financial or social reasons. Siddiqui also said that it was their pride to cope up with the educational needs of the deprived section of the society.

AIOU has already started several projects regarding the provision of free education to prisoners.In addition, an accessibility centre has also been established at the University’s main campus to facilitate visually impaired students in their educational pursuits. The agreement was signed by Registrar AIOU, Muhammad Naeem

Qureshi; Director Program, Sanjh Preet Organization, Pervaiz Akhtar and the country’s representative, Plan International Pakistan, Imran Yousaf Shami. Dr Tanzila Nabeel, Director Bureau for University Extension special program, also highlighting the project and said that a good number of female students are being benefited through a comfortable learning system. A pilot project to this effect has successfully been implemented in Tehsil Sajawal (Thatta District) where 656 girls received middle-level education and later they enrolled themselves for matriculation. The AIOU had also prepared the entire course for class sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth in the Sindhi language to facilitate the local students. Final exams: The final examination of Matric, FA and BA programs for Pakistanis settled in the Middle East and other countries will be conducted by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) from July 24, 2016. These exams will take place in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Oman and Bahrain, a spokesman for the university noted on Wednesday.

Several exams centres have already been established in all these countries through their respective Pakistani Missions. In addition, roll number slips have also been dispatched to all enrolled students at their given addresses, the spokesman added.