Dr Shahid Siddiqui likely to take charge as VC AIOU after Eid holidays

A renowned educationist Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui is likely to take charge of his assignment as Vice Chancellor, Allama Iqbal Open University(AIOU) soon after Eid holidays. He was appointed by President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, who is also Chancellor of the University, on the recommendations of the Prime Minister and a Search Committee consisting of eminent scholars to interview and select the most suitable candidate.
Dr Siddiqui is a leading educationist and linguist who have been involved with Pakistani system of Education as a teacher, teacher educator, researcher, academic leader, and a prolific writer for the last three decades.
He obtained his PhD in English from University of Toronto, Canada, MEd TESOL from University of Manchester, the UK, and MA English Language and Literature from Gordon College.
He worked in prestigious universities such as the Aga Khan University (AKU), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), and Lahore School of Economics (LSE) on academic and administrative positions.
He had also been associated with AIOU for thirteen years that enabled him to fully acquaint himself with the philosophy, structure, product, clientele, and dynamics of distance education.
Dr Siddiqui has a strong track record of research publications. He is also author of various books on important topics relating to education. His forthcoming book, Education Policies of Pakistan: Politics, Projections, and Practices is being published by Oxford University Press. He has been associated with national dailies such as Dawn, The News, and Pakistan Today, as a regular column writer.
Dr Siddiqui had also represented the country in national and international conferences. Dr Siddiqui won a number of meritorious awards, including British Council award (Manchester), U.S. Embassy scholarship (Vermont), Canadian Commonwealth award (Toronto), Charles Wallace award (Oxford), Social Sciences Research Council award (Sri Lanka, India), and MTCP award (Malaysia).
He is a member of HEC Committee for Development of Social Sciences and Humanities in Pakistan and acts as a regular resource person on FDP programme of HEC.
Meanwhile, the three representative bodies of AIOU, Academic Staff Association, Officer Welfare Association and Employees Welfare Association have welcomed the appointment of Dr Siddiqui and expressed confidence that his tenure would be a landmark in the University's history for further enhancing the academic status of the University home and abroad. "We are looking forward to working with him in a team spirit for further improving the working conditions of the academic staff, officers and the workers," they added.