When the British Open University (OU) was established in 1969, it was meant to give a second chance to take higher education for those who otherwise would not be able to study because they lived far away from a university, because they were working in fulltime jobs, or were housewives or had other responsibilities.

OU’s most famous advertisement showed a woman herding sheep in the remote highlands. Yet, thanks to OU she could still be a successful university student.

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in Islamabad opened in 1974, as the second distance education university in the world. Millions of students have earned their degrees from AIOU, most of them working men and women, often in middle-level jobs such as teachers, nurses, office workers, and so on.

“Many AIOU students are women”, says Murtaza Noor in the Higher Education Commission (HEC). “But that has now also become the case in ordinary universities, where there are almost 50 per cent women. In some institutions, like the University of Gujrat, there are more women than men, both as regards students and staff.”

“Distance education was meant to be a way of democratizing university education and make it available to more students, irrespective of gender, where they live, how much money they earn, and so on.

In conservative communities where education is not valued, especially not for women, distance education is particularly import”, says professor Emeritus Iftikhar Nisa Hassan, who worked at AIOU for many years.

“But I am critical to recent developments at AIOU”, she says.

“Less attention should be given to advanced courses and more to undergraduate courses, the way it was originally. AIOU should also develop new books and correspondence materials, and the teachers and tutors should be in frequent contact with their students, also using email”, she says.

She underlines that AIOU must not lose sight of its purpose, provide quality higher education to the poor.

“I have been studying at AIOU for over two years, and will have my last exam for my simple Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree later this year”, Mohammad Suleman, 28, from Rawalpindi says.

“I have been working throughout my studies, and just now I am a manager in a photocopy and print shop in Islamabad.”

“It is a busy life, but I enjoy it”, he says and adds that he likes AIOU’s system of sending correspondence materials to its students with assignments. “If we don’t read the material and submit the required assignments we are not allowed to sit for the exams. And we also have to attend a couple of weekend gatherings in Islamabad every half-year.”

“We are also encouraged to have study groups with other students in the same locality. It is always good to discuss course content with others, but in practice, we rarely gather and we only discus with fellow students at the short gatherings that the university organizes”, Suleman says.

“Sometimes, I am quite envious of Suleman’s quite well structured course”, says Tariq Aziz, 23, from Faizabad in Islamabad. He is a private student for his simple BA at Punjab University in Lahore.

“We are entirely left to our own. We register, get the curriculum and reading lists and then it is up to ourselves to read the books, memorize the content and make sense out of it all, and do our best at the exam”, Tariq says.

He started working in 2010 and just now, he is working in the same shop at Suleman, helping with computer work and design because he has earlier taken some IT courses and has had work experience in the field.

“I opted for a simple BA as a private student because it is possible to combine with a job, and it is a bit faster than to enroll at an AIOU degree course. I could not afford to be a fulltime student without any income. My father retired from the army many years ago. My two elder brothers are doing jobs and I will be the first to get a university degree – if I pass”, Tariq adds, looking both smart an intelligent.

“To get a simple BA, we have to take six courses, some compulsory and some elective. My courses include two courses in Islamic studies and English, one in Pakistan studies and one in Persian. I will sit for my exam next spring. Each exam takes two and half or three hours with some five essay-type questions. There are usually no multiple choice questions. The exam is considered strict and the degree is recognised.”

“When I have earned my BA degree, I would like to continue with a Masters degree in languages”, Tariq says. “But I would then like to find a government job since the working hours are much shorter there. In the private sector, we have to work at least ten hours”, but he adds that he likes the job and work atmosphere in his current job.

Sadia Irram, 33, is a secondary school teacher, and a mother of three, living in Islamabad. Last year, she completed her Master’s degree in international relations while working full time. “I was glad that the National University of Modern Languages (Numl) in Islamabad offered afternoon classes, which made it possible to combine work and studies”, Sadia says, speaking on telephone from Gujar Khan where she has been visiting her parents during the Eidul Azha holiday.

“It was worthwhile doing a Master’s even along my fulltime job”, Sadia says.

“I was also glad that I did it at a regular university, not at a distance education university. Being a teacher myself, I believe in students and teachers meeting in class, not just reading books and taking exams. I think we all learn a lot from discussing and asking questions.

“Today, it is possible to have contact between student and teacher on email, maybe even telephone and, of course, through correspondence material, but I still believe that the classroom situation is essential”, Sadia Irram says.

“I had hoped to find a job in the NGO sector after completion. That has not happened yet. But I think I have become a better teacher now when I have a higher degree.”