ISLAMABAD:Third Secretary of Iraq Embassy, Dr. Abdullah, on Tuesday met with the Vice Chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood and discussed the recognition of its degrees in the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education, as well as potential collaborations between the AIOU and universities in Iraq.
Dr. Abdullah said the degrees from 31 universities in Pakistan were recognized in Iraq, and they were interested in recognizing the degrees from AIOU as well.
After observing the infrastructure, international student enrollment, and the use of both open distance learning and face-to-face learning modes at the AIOU, the secretary expressed hope that Iraqi students would also enroll in it.
Additionally, he assured that he would recommend the recognition of AIOU’s credentials and degrees to the Ministry of Education in Iraq.
The Directorate of International Collaboration and Exchange (ICE) at AIOU would send an official letter to the third secretary requesting the recognition of degrees and recommend and forward it to the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education Commission.
AIOU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood said the university was focused on building relationships with international universities and it offered all possible facilities to international and overseas students.
Director of ICE Dr. Zahid Majeed explained to the third secretary that there were deep religious, historical, and cultural ties between Iraq and Pakistan.
He hoped to strengthen these ties through educational linkages.
He said the AIOU was the only university in Pakistan that offered education from the school level to PhD and promoted education through distance learning, face-to-face, and online modes of learning.
As of June 2023, over 4.6 million students had graduated from the AIOU and after digitization, the university was teaching 100,000 students online every day.