ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood on Monday called for educationists to play an active role in developing mobile apps and contents for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Mobile technology could be more effective and result-oriented because of its existing wide-ranging network at the mass level, he said while addressing the inaugural session of the two-day International conference on ‘Collective Action for Knowledge Economy with Technology (CAKE-Tech) held here at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).
The theme of the conference was to streamline the roadmap of concept for achieving the SDGs in Pakistan with the use of cyber technology platform.
The conference was hosted by the AIOU in collaboration with Qarshi University, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences and University of Management and Technology and largely attended by the country’s academicians and foreign delegates.
The minister hoped that educationalists and institutions of distance-learning like AIOU will come forward for developing quality-contents for delivering them through mobile services.
“The idea of using mobile technology for the purpose of educating and helping the masses to participate in socio-economic development is a very timely and innovative approach,” he added.
The minister said that he believes that the smart use of technology could be more feasible for transformation change in the mindset of the masses. “We will be striving to achieve SDGs with the help of our educational institutions and with new innovative methods, he remarked.
Shafqat Mahmood was confident that the present government will succeed in enhancing the literacy rate from 58 to 70 per cent, by taking advantage of mobile technology.
“To enhance educational access to the rural area, the mobilization of technology will be imperative to overcome illiteracy problem,” he said, adding; the new technology is the best source to overcome the knowledge-gap and learning’s capacity-building.
