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Allama Iqbal Open University

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Allama Iqbal Open University is a public university in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is named after Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the country's national poet. It is the world's fifth largest institution of higher learning in terms of enrolment, with an annual enrollment of 1,121,038 students (as of 2010), the majority are women and course enrollment of 3,305,948 (2011).[4] Students can gain admission in Matriculation, Intermediate, Bachelor, Master, MPhil and Ph.D. programmes at the university.[5]

Allama Iqbal Open University
علامہ اقبال اوپن یونیورسٹی
Other name
AIOU
Motto'Education for All'
TypePublic
Established1974; 50 years ago (1974)
EndowmentGovernment of Pakistan
ChancellorPresident of Pakistan
Vice-ChancellorProf. Dr. Nasir Mahmood[1]
Academic staff
2899
Students1,326,266
Location
Islamabad-44000
,
Pakistan

33°40′58″N 73°03′26″E / 33.68285319081896°N 73.05725156600758°E / 33.68285319081896; 73.05725156600758
CampusUrban
ColoursSky blue, orange, white
   
AffiliationsHigher Education Commission (Pakistan)[2]
Pakistan Engineering Council[3]
Websitewww.aiou.edu.pk
Allama Muhammad Iqbal, then president of the Muslim League in 1930 and address deliverer

The university has 44 regional campuses and centers throughout Pakistan including in Faisalabad Millat Road, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.[2][6][7]

Objectives and mission

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Established in May 1974 under Act No. XXXIX passed by the Parliament of Pakistan,[8] it is Asia's first open university with a strong emphasis on providing distance education in philosophy, natural science and social sciences.[6][7][9] It has the most applicants per year of any university in Pakistan.

AIOU offers extensive undergraduate and post-graduate programs in academic disciplines.[10] After witnessing the success of the Open University in the United Kingdom, AIOU was established as a public university in 1974.[4]

AIOU is noted for its cost-effective policy to provide higher and lifelong education to people learning from their homes and places of work at a minimum cost through a specialised fund managed by the government.[6][4]

AIOU is open to everyone and provides education to all without any discrimination.[6]

Administration and governance

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  • Chancellor (President of Pakistan)
  • Pro-Chancellor (Federal Minister for Education, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training)
  • Vice-Chancellor (Chief Executive Officer/Head of the institution)
  • Executive Council (Governing Body)

Faculties and departments

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Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies

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Established in 1974, the faculty was upgraded as the Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1998, with the following departments:

The Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies also operates an Indexing and Abstracting Agency "Islamic Research Index". The Islamic Research Index is the first and largest repository of Arabic and Islamic Studies Research Journals.

Faculty of Education

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Established in 1984, the Faculty of Education's origin predates the university. A National Institute of Education was established in 1973 as a part of the Federal Ministry of Education, to improve education at school levels through in-service training of Master Trainers. This institute became a part of the university in June 1975.

The Faculty of Education has the following departments:

Faculty of Sciences

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Renamed as Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences was established in 1982. It comprises the following nine departments:

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

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The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities was established in 1982. The 16 departments of the faculty are:

Future goals of AIOU

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  • BS (4-Years) Specialization in Distance
  • Non-Formal and Continuing Education
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Technology
  • Postgraduate Diplomas in Distance Education
  • Postgraduate Diplomas in Non-Formal Education

Commemorative postage stamp

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On the university's 25th anniversary, Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp for it on 20 November 1999.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Dr Nasir appointed acting VC of AIOU". The News (newspaper). 24 November 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Fayyaz, Usama (22 July 2019). "Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) launches four-year BS programmes". Business Recorder. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) gets accreditation of BE Telecom from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)". Associated Press of Pakistan website. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Brief history". Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Programmes". aiou.edu.pk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "25 Years of Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad (scroll down to this section with University Profile)". paknetmag.com website. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b Malik, Fahad (1 September 2016). "Online learning". Dawn. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  8. ^ "AIOU AT A GLANCE | Education For All". www.aiou.edu.pk. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Listing programs". Listing programs. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Education programs at AIOU". Education programs at AIOU. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
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