In midst of rising COVID cases, President Arif Alvi asks HEC to formulate distant learning policy

In a meeting held with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi asked the body to formulate a policy for distant learning at the earliest to promote the system of e-Learning in Pakistan.

Dr. Arif Alvi also said in a tweet,
“The faster it is done the better it would be for all kinds of on-line and distant education. I spoke on distance learning for the first time in 2006 as President of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation at the FDI World Dental Federation Conference in Shenzhen, China.”

The education system worldwide has had to change drastically due to the COVID-19 situation that has forced schools, colleges, and universities to close worldwide. In such a time where the educational institutes are trying to find a way to provide education through online tools without compromising on quality, the help of the government is required.

With an effective policy in place that promotes e-Learning in Pakistan, not only will imparting education to the masses be easier but it will also be less costly. This will also allow more children to gain access to education as they will not have to leave their homes. However, it cannot be used as a substitute for Face-to-Face learning, only as an additional resource coupled with the regular methods.

This meeting also comes after Dr. Arif Alvi emphasized the need for setting up an integrated government database to enhance the efficiency of public sector organizations while chairing a meeting on Sub-Committee on Emerging Technologies on e-Governance, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad.

Image Source: MoITT