This is a write-up of an interview with Prof. Naveed Malik, former Rector/Vice Chancellor of the Virtual University of Pakistan. The interview was conducted by Robert Schuwer, Open Universiteit (the Netherlands).
The Virtual University of Pakistan (VUP) is an institution for HE in the public sector. We have no face 2 face teaching, but deliver through television (although this channel is phasing out), and the internet. See www.vu.edu.pk.
Our materials consist of video lectures and course notes. Pakistan is bilingual (English and Urdu), and our lectures use a mixture of both languages. All written materials are in English. We do not reuse other materials, but develop everything by ourselves. We are using guest authors for this. They transfer all property rights to the VUP, so we are free to use the materials for all purposes. Our learners are an equal mixture of regular students and life long learners (currently more than 100,000 learners, and increasing). Pakistan has a severe shortage of capacity at regular universities. Examinations are taken in a proctored environment at designated centres (100 cities with >200 resource centres). Students are allowed to create their own exam schedule. All exams are IT supported, which guarantees the safety of the system (e.g. no two exams are identical).