Transforming Open and Distance Learning in Pakistan : Post Covid 19 Analysis of Students’ Perspectives at Allama Iqbal Open University

Abstract

The study had the objectives to compare gender
and Locality wise perception of the students
regarding new initiatives of student support services in O pen and d istance l earning (ODL) at
Allama Iqbal Open University ( after COVID 19 Scenario . The study’s purpose was to
find the perceptions of the students about services for them regarding admissions, mailing,
tutorials, library, web services etc. and examinations. The population and sample included 1555
(266 male and 1289 of two strata as ( 33% with 518 (88 male and 430 female) stud ents
were selected respectively that were enrolled in Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. 1.5 Years) during
semester Spring 2023. The questionnaire was used as research tool. The software, Statistical
Package for Social Science (SPSS) was applied to analyze the collected data. F requency
distribution and t test for respondents ’ data were found by SPSS software. It was found that
services related to the examinations d epart ment we re required to be improved . It was concluded
that there was no significant difference among the students regarding admissions, mailing,
tutorials, examinations, library, web services and call centre. However, rural and urban students
perceived that the se rvices regarding examination differently. It was recommended that
improved and effective use of ICT is imperative to further strengthen the student support services
by strengthening LMS Portal existing already for ODL for submission of assignments and
evaluation as formative as well as summative too For future direction it was suggested that same
kind of study may be conducted in each province of Pakistan.