The third session of the General Assembly of the COMSTECH Inter-Islamic Network on Virtual Universities (CINVU) was held at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in Islamabad.<\/p>\n
Vice-chancellors, rectors, and seasoned academics from virtual universities in Syria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, Tunisia, Gabon (Africa), Chad (Africa), and other countries attended the event, while officials from 34 member universities participated virtually.<\/p>\n
Addressing the session, the General Coordinator of CINVU, Professor Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, stated that the population under 23 years old in the Islamic world is approximately 1.56 billion and that the network can play a key role in ensuring the development of education in member countries. He noted that the main difference between developed and developing countries is the current gap in education and research.<\/p>\n
In his remarks, the president of the CINVU executive committee and the vice-chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University, Professor Zia Ul-Qayyum, stated that online or virtual education is the most pressing need of the hour. He said that the whole world has realized that it is not possible to provide education without an online system during COVID-19.<\/p>\n
He indicated that proposals and recommendations will be formulated after discussions, which will be presented at the next CINVU General Assembly meeting for approval and implementation.<\/p>\n
The vice-chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), Professor Muhammad Ali, stated that AIOU has made significant progress over the past three years under the dynamic leadership of Professor Zia Ul-Qayyum. He mentioned that QAU has also initiated the digitization process and sought assistance from AIOU.<\/p>\n