Federal Minister for Education and Professional Development, Rana Tanvir Hussain has said that the present government was taking various steps for bringing improvement in the education sector. He expressed these views while addressing the ground-breaking ceremony of the Regional Campus of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in Sheikhupura. He further said the Govt will train the teachers in the first phase.
He said that AIOU offers various programs of teacher training, and universities should take steps by introducing a special training program for teacher training to secure the future of children. He further added that Allama Iqbal Open University could play an important role in popularizing education, training teachers and improving quality education in the country. Unless the direction is right, we cannot make progress. We should pay special attention to merit, transparency, and quality of education.
He further said that after Covid 19, the distance education system and online education have become very popular all over the world. The education minister said that Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum is one of the most active Vice-Chancellors and he can bring further improvement to this education system. He said that Saudi Arabia has made an excellent setup of an e-learning and communication system education system consisting of 20 TV channels. The Government of Pakistan is sending Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum to Saudi Arabia in the first week of July to review Saudi Arabia’s communication education system to further improve Pakistan’s distance education.
Rana Tanveer Hussain further said that he gets peace of mind for contributing to the betterment of the region or the country. The Federal Minister for Education said that Open University is the second-largest university in South Asia. The establishment of a campus in Sheikhupura will also provide free education to the needy children of the area which will increase the number of 1.2 million students at the university many times over.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum said that the Deputy Commissioner, Rana Shakeel Aslam, and the Ministry of Education were assisting in the acquisition of land for the Sheikhupura Campus. Laying the foundation stone of the Federal Minister of Education in his hometown with his own hands is a sign of a positive attitude towards education.
The Vice-Chancellor said that the Open University is on a mission to expand its educational network and build campus buildings, laying the foundation of a regional campus in Gwadar soon, going to Attock, Sargodha, and inner Sindh as well. The Vice-Chancellor further said that the Open University is also bringing out-of-school children into the educational net in collaboration with various institutions. “Identify out-of-school children and we will include them in the education network without any charges,” he said.
Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum said that the Open University is providing free education to eunuchs and prisoners to make them useful citizens and integrate them into the national mainstream. He further said that after digitalization, it has become necessary to have a TV channel. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the TV channel of the university will be launched soon. Credit for providing higher education opportunities to the Sheikhupura campus and its residents goes to Federal Minister for Education Rana Tanveer Hussain.
Director-General Regional Services, Dr. Malik Tauqeer Ahmad Khan, and Regional Director Sheikhupura, Nasreen Akhtar Mirza also addressed the function.
He said that with the construction of the campus, every effort would be made to bring the rate of education in Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib to 100% and would fulfill the dream of the Minister of Education for quality education.
