The President, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi, the Chancellor of the University visited the Head Office of the Virtual University of Pakistan and addressed the VUP faculty and Students. “Virtual University of Pakistan is a key player in forming the “Digital Pakistan,” says the President. “This prestigious institution was established to deliver quality education to the remote areas of Pakistan is now making an impact in realizing Digital Pakistan,” said Dr. Arif Alvi. He also added that Virtual University is the best example of a uniform curriculum all across Pakistan as it delivers high-quality content across the width and breadth of Pakistan.
The President who is also Chancellor of the Virtual University of Pakistan visited the University and its state of the art facilities for the LMS management, ICT infrastructure, and production house on Thursday.
The Rector, Virtual University of Pakistan, Prof. Dr. Arshad Saleem Bhatti welcomed the prestigious guests along with VUP management. A detailed briefing was given to The President by the Rector, VUP.
The President was informed that VUP is currently present in more than 120 cities of Pakistan with more than 125,000 active students and 8160 overseas students from 62 countries around the globe. For the last 20 years, VUP has provided extremely affordable higher education to the masses irrespective of their geographic location.
Currently, VUP has 14 departments, 5 faculties, and a recently established Professional Development Center. The President was briefed that VUP is also working on Blended Virtual Education for Knowledge-Economy, Digital Skills Training and Support Program for Southern Baluchistan, and DigiSkills 2.0. He was informed that the Blended Learning project will be a game changer in the higher education sector. In this project, VUP has joined hands with 12 smaller Universities to increase their enrolment and capacity building.
Talking to the VUP administration, The President appreciated the role of VUP in the dissemination of affordable higher education through electronic mode. The award of Information Access Center (IAC) by the National Information Society, South Korea, and Digital Transformation Center (DTC) by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to the Virtual University is international recognition of the University and the good work that it is doing to bridge up the digital divide in Pakistan. He also commented that Virtual University has the capacity to raise the literacy level of the country at a much higher speed.
The President emphasized the importance of research and innovation-based education. He stressed the need for conventional universities to educate students on the latest technological developments by following the educational model of the Virtual University of Pakistan. The President of Pakistan emphasized that the University should develop programs, which would empower low-income segments of the society and add value to their skill set. He was happy to know that the University is working with various organizations in the Private sector to develop an internationally recognized program in nursing and with the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education to develop programs for out of school children.
He strongly encouraged VUP to work collaboratively with other universities, and with other higher education institutions within the country and abroad. Additionally, he urged that opportunities for quality education be made available for the larger community, and an online education system is the best working model for this purpose. The President assured all assistance and cooperation to VUP from the Federal Government.
In an online session, The President addressed the faculty members and students of the Virtual University of Pakistan. In his address, The President urged the students to learn digital skills. “You are a part of the most prestigious educational institution, which is the pioneer of E-Learning in Pakistan. It was remarkable that during COVID-19 when every University in Pakistan was facing problems, VUP flawlessly continued its educational setup without any obstacle.” He added. In the last session, The President visited different departments of the university including the Virtual University TV Network and Data Center.