Students Demand AIOU Inclusion In PM Laptop Scheme

News Desk

Islamabad: The students of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on Monday urged that the government include the university in the Prime Minister Laptop Scheme so that its students, particularly the Ph.D. and M.Phil scholars, are facilitated in pursuing their higher education.

They opined that because AIOU is the largest public university and has higher rankings, it should be included in the PM laptop scheme.

As per the Impact Ranking 2023 of the Times Higher Education, AIOU was ranked first among 66 public and private universities in Pakistan, while it is ranked 25th among 1304 universities worldwide.

The students describe the non-inclusion decision as completely unjust since it would affect hundreds of students, mainly Ph.D. and MPhil students in various disciplines, who are continuing their education in accordance with other public sector colleges.

“AIOU is the only university in Pakistan that was included in the top 25 universities of the world,” said AmbreenIqbal, an MPhil scholar.

Ambreenfurther stated that because she and her classmates come from middle-class households, they are unable to purchase laptops for research work, adding that their dreams of receiving laptops were destroyed by the University’s exclusion from the scheme.

Another PhD scholar Ahsan mentioned that AIOU students were also ignored in the laptop scheme earlier on the pretext that the university was imparting education through distance learning.

However, later, AIOU students were included in the scheme; as all Ph.D. and MPhil students of various departments are engaged in face-to-face education like other public sector universities.

A student of M.Sc. Chemistry FauziaHameed called upon Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed and PM Special Assistant on Youth and Affairs Shaza Fatima to include AIOU in the laptop scheme.