ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and Skill Development Council (SDC) on Wednesday signed an agreement to promote skill-based education, enabling the people to earn their livelihood and help the country in its socio-economic development.
Under the agreement, the University will soon launch short-term technical courses for industrial workers and fresh graduates. It was aimed at bridging the skill-gap between technical institutions and industries, said Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui while addressing the signing ceremony that was also addressed by the Chairman SDC Khalid Rehman.
A well-equipped lab will be set up at the AIOU’s main campus to equip the students with latest technology and advanced software being used in automobile and engineering industry.
Initially, it will be a one year pilot project that will mainly facilitate the people of Rawalpindi-Islamabad and Lahore regions. The training programme will be a kind of in-house job internship for the fresh graduates. Dr. Shahid Siddiqui said the University is engaged in promoting its collaborative partnership with national and international institutions for its capacity-building to meet contemporary needs of its students.
The developing countries like Pakistan, the Vice Chancellor said needed to overcome knowledge and skill gap in their educational system for bringing them at par with the developed countries. A literate and technically well-equipped manpower could be an effective source for socio-economic development. The AIOU being Mega University wished to fulfill its responsibilities in this connection.
The agreement was inked by the University’s Registrar Muhammad Dr Muhammad Naeem Qureshi and Chairman SDC Khalid Rehman. Dean Sciences Nagmana Rashid gave a briefing on the proposed technical programs on the occasion.
