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AIOU to introduce new concept of distance learning, says VC
Islamabad, Nov 21, 2007: The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has embarked upon a
mega project for introducing a new concept of distance learning education
through satellite television channels.
Vice Chancellor of AIOU Dr
Mahmoodul Hassan Butt said on Tuesday in an interview that the
Planning Commission had already approved a grant of Rs390 million for setting up
two satellite television channels.
Dr Butt, who was appointed as VC of
country's largest university two years back through a process of international
search by Higher Education Commission (HEC), said the project would be
implemented in 15 months that would also include establishment of 210 centres
where satellite communication would be down-loaded. "The number of these centres
will gradually increase up to 2000 in the years to come," Dr Mahmoodul Hassan
Butt said.
The AIOU VC maintained that now he was focusing on developing
a Online system of education from the university and gradually most of courses
would be available online. "We have planned to place four courses online by end
of December this year," he said.
Dr Butt said they have also talked to a
leading computer firm namely 'Intel' in order to provide laptops to students who
want to benefit from online system. The laptops would be provided on half of the
price of market. "In this way, the students residing in far-flung areas can
benefit from online system where facility of Internet is available," he
said.
He said they were also negotiating with National Bank in order to
arrange availability of laptops to students on easy instalments.
He said
the concept of distance learning had changed a lot and now it is more authentic
and equally reliable and competitive system of education saying to achieve this,
the university management had taken a number of measures to ensure standards and
quality.
Dr Butt said they have adopted a system through which cases of
unfair means used in examination and assignments could be detected. "In the last
semester, we caught 5,000 cases of unfair means used by students out of over 0.6
million candidates," he said. He said in these cases the candidates were warned,
asked to re-do their assignments while their tutors were also reprimanded
accordingly. "This system of check and balance is a must to ensure high standard
of education," he said.
Mentioning another step, Dr Mahmoodul Hassan Butt
said they have also started academic audit of all 1370 courses, which would
include removal of outdated courses and material, upgradation of material of
each of the courses. "We will revise and refine the courses which are to be
retained," he said.
He emphasised that for the time being no more courses
would be added while existing ones would be up-graded and refined.
In
order to ensure quality in courses meant for training of teacher, he said the
period of Bachelor of Education (BEd) would be increased from three semesters to
eight semesters while the CT and PTC courses which the intending teachers do
after secondary or higher secondary education, would be done away within the
next two years.
He pointed out that the university management was also
focusing on engaging maximum PhD holders as faculty members by offering them
lucrative packages saying currently, they have 67 PhD holders in the AIOU. "We
also making award of PhD degrees more strict as the thesis will now be evaluated
by highly qualified subject specialists from outside the university," he
maintained.
He stressed the students qualifying from AIOU were equally
talented and compatible whenever they apply for any lucrative job or further
higher education.
Presently, the AIOU is also running a FM channel which
could be heard from Hasan Abdal to Gujar while five more FM channels carrying
educational aspects and university programmes would be on air from Lahore,
Karachi, Multan, Hyderabad and Peshawar in the next one year. The News
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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