Search the Community

Welcome to Allama Iqbal Open University, the First Distance Education University in South Asia, that caters to the educational needs of 1.3 million students to enable them to study at their place, at their own pace, and at their convenience. The University goes to the doorsteps of the students, irrespective of the distance and location of students. One can become a university student at any age as we consider education a life-long and continuous process. The University has a vast menu of educational programs at different levels, starting from basic literacy programs to the Ph.D. programs. The courses are regularly revised in order to keep them contemporary, relevant, and internationally compatible. Self-explanatory course material helps the students to comprehend the course concepts without the physical presence of the teacher. The self-assessment activities included in the books help ensure the acquisition of learning outcomes. At AIOU, we believe that female literacy needs to have a particular focus, especially in the far-flung areas of the country where girls do not have educational institutions close to their homes and offer several programs to facilitate female literacy. The Allama Iqbal Open University was established in May 1974, with the main objectives of providing educational opportunities to masses and those who cannot leave their homes and jobs. During all these past years, the University has more than fulfilled this promise. It has opened up educational opportunities for the working people and has provided females access to their doorsteps. It has also done pioneering work in the field of Mass Education. It is now breaking new grounds in the fields of professional, scientific, and technical education. It is attempting to reach out to the remotest areas of Pakistan. It is also attempting to harness modern information Technology for spreading education in Pakistan. The AIOU, when established in 1974, was the second Open University in the world and first in Asia and Africa. It, thus, speaks of the foresight of the policy-makers of that time. As these past years of AIOU have proved, Distance Education has opened up new opportunities for millions, particularly women, and supplemented the federal and provincial governments' efforts in a big way and that too without becoming a burden on their resources. The idea of Distance Education assumed greater relevance and acceptance in Pakistan due to poverty and women's relative deprivation. The rate of literacy, incidence of dropouts, and excess to higher education is much lower in Pakistan's poorer classes. The incidence of poverty is much higher in rural areas, where formal education is much less established. The literacy and education rate is much lower for females in Pakistan, particularly in rural areas, due to poverty and conservative traditions. Under the pressure of old age traditions, many conservative parents do not allow their daughters to go out to the schools. The AIOU, through its system of Distance Education, has provided educational opportunities to these housebound girls and women. This explains the reasons why the majority of the students enrolled at the University are females. Latterly, the University is trying to fulfill another current need. Professional and technical education in Pakistan is becoming very costly, especially in recent years, because of government policy to encourage the private sector in these fields. The lower middle class and poorer classes are being marginalized. Their children have very little chance to get high education in Business Administration, Computer Science, Medicine, and Engineering. The AIOU is attempting to meet this challenge and keep a window open for these classes by keeping the costs minimum and creating a Student Assistance Fund. Earned UNESCO NOMA award and Raja Roy Sing award for innovative strategies for imparting literacy to the rural masses. View full university