The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) in education sector with Pyam-e-Noor University, Tehran, while it is exploring possibilities of signing leading universities around the world to eradicate illiteracy and provide the light of knowledge to each and every home all over the country.
This was stated by Allama Iqbal Open University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi during a meeting with a high-level Iranian delegation. Sangi said AIOU would set up 3,000 schools in far-flung rural areas under Rural Integration School Education (RISE) Programme for which 20,000 teachers would be hired which will play a pivotal role in the enhancement of literacy rate in the country.
He added that education was a movement from darkness to light, so no stone would be left unturned to fulfil AIOU’s main objective “Education for all”. Dr. Sangi said a chain of community-based libraries was also being set up where books would not only be available for students without any charge but these would also be issued to them for preparation of exams. The VC said the AIOU would soon collaborate with the leading universities of Iran to have joint ventures in different fields of education. Sangi stressed the need of exploring various possibilities of cooperation in the field of education and said exchange of academicians would help both the countries learn from each other’s best practices and sharing of educational facilities. Speaking on the occasion, the cultural consular of Iran said Iran and Pakistan were good neighbors and had close brotherly relations. He was of the view that the universities could boost bilateral ties. He added: “We should explore collaboration between Iranian and Pakistani universities for mutual interest, especially cooperation in education sector. Prof Dr Abdul Hafiz, dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Abdul Basit, assistant professor, Department of History, and Senior Editor Abdul Wadood also attended the meeting.
