Fee waiver: Flood-affected students to receive 50% concession

AIOU plans to increase enrolment from present 1.3m to 4m over next five years.

ISLAMABAD:

The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) will provide a 50 per cent fee concession to students hailing from areas which have been affected by the recent floods.

AIOU Vice-Chancellor Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi announced the decision during an Independence Day function at the university’s main campus on Wednesday.

“Regional offices have already been given instructions to prepare the list of affected students,” he said. “Budgetary funds have been allocated for this purpose.”

Sangi said AIOU has provided similar concessions to its students in the past, during the 2010 floods.

He added the university would be reaching out to the federal and provincial governments to help them meet their educational targets.

Special schemes aimed at providing technical and vocational training for male and female students nationwide would be launched soon, he said.



Sangi said AIOU’s enrolment rate had increased manifold during the last three years, particularly in far-flung areas.

“We intend to increase enrolment from the present 1.3 million to four million over the next five years. The university will be working on a fast-track basis to expand its educational infrastructure by establishing new campuses and study centres across the country,” he added.

AIOU Faculty of Social Sciences Dean Dr Rashid Naeem announced that special awards would be presented to the university’s employees and officers for their outstanding performances.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2013.