AIOU distributes laptops among 162 students

ISLAMABAD: As many as 162 students, enrolled in the Master’s programme at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were given laptops on Friday.

The laptops were handed out under the third phase of the Prime Minister‘s Laptop Scheme. The machines were distributed according to the merit-criteria set by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the varsity said in a statement released on Friday.

“A transparent mechanism was adopted while implementing the scheme,” said Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui while chairing the laptop distribution ceremony.

He noted that the laptops were the reward for their hard work and talent and hoped that they will use the instruments to further their academic research and help bring about positive change in their individual and collective life.

Dr Siddiqui noted that as many as 2,500 Masters in Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) students of the university have already received laptops across the country.

The university, he said, had a special distinction among the country’s educational institutions in terms of enrollment that which had risen to 1.3 million. Of these 56 per cent are female students — most of whom hail from remote regions.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2017.