ISLAMABAD: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has launched revised academic programmes of MEd and BEd teachers training as per new road-map set by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The last date for the admission is September 28.
These teachers’ training programmes are compatible with the ongoing teaching programmes in other universities of the country. After the introduction of HEC’s reforms in teaching program, the AIOU was the first one that launched BEd (One and a half year-duration) for the candidates having 16 years of education.
In line with the HEC’s approved criteria and the direction of the Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui, the AIOU has also launched BEd (two and a half year-duration) and BEd (four years) in secondary and science education for the candidates having 14 years of education. According to the Faculty of Education Dean Dr Nasir Mahmood, the university was going to add online support for the teacher training programmes as well and have also developed curriculum and contemporary teaching strategies for the newly launched programmes.
According to reports, the AIOU’s faculty of education is one of the largest in the country in terms of the number of programmes offered and enrollment. Besides this, it is also the only institution that offers non-formal teaching certificate for the non-formal education sector.
In order to bring the relevance of the university’s programmes to the requirements of the market, the department of the distance non-formal and continuing education has also started a six-month certificate course and post-graduate diploma for the training of teachers in the field non-formal education. The university as per the vision of the vice-chancellor was also in process of revising its existing academic programmes in various disciplines, keeping in the view the socio-economic needs of the society.
According to further details, the curriculum and teaching pattern was being updated in order to improve the quality of the academic programmes at each level. Sixty per cent of this work had already been completed.
“We are trying to ensure that our qualified teachers should be competitive and acquainted with contemporary skills of teaching,” the education dean said, adding that the vice chancellor took a number of initiatives during the last two and half years to bring about qualitative improvement in the entire academic network.
