ISLAMABAD - Director UNESCO Dr Kozue Kay Nagata lauded the role of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in educating thousands of dropout students and providing them skill-based quality education through distance learning system.
While addressing a world teachers' day's function held here on Wednesday at AIOU, she said the educational institutions should play their role in ensuring accessibility to quality education across the board. Currently, there are 26 millions drop-out students in Pakistan for which necessary human and financial resources will be required on urgent basis, she said adding without education and good teachers, no society can flourish.
The function was presided over by the vice chancellor AIOU Prof Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi, who in his address assured that the university will be putting extra efforts to meet the challenge of providing education to all and meet the educational requirements of drop-out students.
Dr Kozue asserted that the teachers could play a leading role in transformation of society and shaping the future of the new generation on positive line. She said the objective of achieving lasting peace and sustainable development would not possible without arranging quality education, provided by well-trained, valued, supported and motivated teachers.
She noted there are over 1.2 million teachers in Pakistan, delivering knowledge and skills to over 26 million students in the country. The country, she added needs many more qualified teachers. Dr Kozue Key Nagata called for making greater efforts and evolving a viable mechanism for social reformation through quality education.
 She said the working conditions of teachers should be improved.