Ottawa : Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada Raza Bashir Tarar has appreciated the efforts of Commonwealth of Learning for higher education and focusing on female education through their Girls Inspire Initiative.

He was addressing a virtual discussion hosted by Government of Canada and Common Wealth of Learning to mark Women’s Day in Ottawa.

The High commissioner said that the concept of offline virtual classroom developed by CoL’s Aptus has given remarkable results in Pakistan.

Talking about the importance of Girls’ education, Raza Bashir said Girl’s Inspire Initiative has helped in providing opportunities to the female segment of the society who have achieved the goal of being schooled trained in skills to earn sustainable livelihoods.

He said this initiative has also helped to mitigate early and forced marriage in rural communities resulting in the female participation as a community in the society.

Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau and President of the Commonwealth of Learning Professor Asha Kanwar also addressed the webinar.