ISLAMABAD  - The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) signed an agreement with Commonwealth of Learning (COL) here on Wednesday for development of Curriculum for Open Schooling System that aims at providing education at primary and elementary level to the drop-out students throughout the country”
The agreement was formally signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Nazir Ahmed Sangi on behalf of AIOU. Under the agreement the COL will provide necessary financial assistance for the development of curriculum / contents of the reading material to be provided to the students.
Director, Bureau of University Extension and Special Programmes (BUESP), Mir Mukhtiar Hussain Talpur gave a presentation at the signing ceremony, stating that COL has agreed to provide necessary funding to AIOU for the establishment of Open Schooling system under which a network of open schools will be established throughout the country. 
This will provide a second chance/educational opportunities to the millions of dropout school boys and girls near their homes and work places.
Under the agreement AIOU will develop the necessary course materials for fourteen subjects to be introduced at primary and elementary school level.
Addressing on the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor said that the curriculum development is a part of over-all arrangement being made for establishment of Open Schooling System in Pakistan in collaboration with COL. Through this arrangement, the AIOU will help for promotion of mass education as well as capacity building for socio-economic education.
The agreement, he said is a mile-stone towards the establishment of Open Schools, through distance learning system.
The development of skills based curriculum is an important step towards the preparation of open schooling system.
It will broaden access of basic education to boys and specifically girls, who are dropped out due to various socio-economic reasons. 
Professor Dr. Nazir A. Sangi thanked COL President Professor Asha Kanwer for approving the project who in a recent meeting with the Professor Sangi also assured for their all possible support to the project activities. The COL’s education specialist Ms. Frances Ferreira who recently visited Pakistan has already assured to find out international donors to support the project which will serve as a model for the others countries to educate the people, through distance-learning system.