F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi Monday directed ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and Higher Education Commission to work for the promotion of online education in the country to minimize the effects of closure of educational institutions due to COVID-19 pandemic. Chairing a meeting, the president highlighted the importance of education and said that the country needed to adopt innovative information and communication technology to minimize the loss of students in this pandemic.
The meeting discussed various options to continue the provision of education in view of the closure of educational institutions, a press release said.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, parliamentary secretary for Education Wajiha Akram, federal secretary, Dr. Sajid Yoosufani, technical advisor Umbreen Arif, Chairman Higher Education Commission Dr. Tariq Banuri and Cambridge International’s Country Director of Pakistan Uzma Yousaf.
Minister for education Shafqat Mahmood briefed the president about the initiatives taken by the ministry for providing education through TV channel in view of the lockdown due to COVID-19. He informed that the ministry had started a TV channel, called Teleschool, to broadcast ready-to-air content on major subjects (English, Maths, Urdu, Science etc) for grade 1 to 12 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The content had been provided free of cost by Edtech Companies and Partners, including Sabaq Foundation, Taleemabad, MUSE, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and Knowledge Platforms, he added. The president appreciated the steps taken by the ministry in establishing the infrastructure of online education in a very short span of time.
He congratulated the ministry’s team for imparting education through TV channel which would considerably help in mitigating the sufferings of the students due to closure of educational institutions.
