Allama Iqbal Open University

Allama Iqbal Open University is a public university in Islamabad, Pakistan.
It is named after Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
The university is the world's fifth largest institution of higher learning, with an annual enrollment of 1,121,038 students, the majority are women and course enrollment of 3,305,948 (2011). Students can gain admission in Matriculation, Intermediate, Bachelor, Master, MPhil and Ph.D. programmes at the university.
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.
Objectives and mission
Established in May 1974 under Act No. XXXIX passed by the Parliament of Pakistan, it is Asia's first open university with a strong emphasis on providing distance education in philosophy, natural science and social sciences. It has the most applicants per year of any university in Pakistan.
AIOU offers extensive undergraduate and post-graduate programs in academic disciplines. After witnessing the success of the Open University in the United Kingdom, AIOU was established as a public university in 1974.
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.
AIOU is open to everyone and provides education to all without any discrimination.
Administration and governance
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
Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies
Established in 1974, the faculty was upgraded as the Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies in 1998, with the following departments:
Arabic Language and Literature
Hadith and Seerah
Islamic Law (Fiqh)
Islamic Thought, History and Culture
Qur'an and Tafseer
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
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:
Adult and Continuing Education
Distance and Non-Formal Education
Educational Planning and Management
Science Education
Special Education
Teacher Education (Secondary)
Teacher Education (Elementary)
Faculty of Sciences
Renamed as Faculty of Sciences, the Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences was established in 1982. It comprises the following nine departments:
Agricultural Sciences
Biology
Botany
Chemistry
Information Technology
Computer Science
Engineering and Technology (Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications)
Environmental Sciences
Home and Health Sciences
Mathematics and Statistics
Physics
Telecommunications
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities was established in 1982. The 16 departments of the faculty are:
Business Administration
Management Sciences
Commerce
Economics
English Language and Applied Linguistics
History
Iqbal Studies
Library and information sciences
Mass Communication
Pakistan Studies
Pakistani languages
Sociology, Social Work and Population Studies
Gender and Women's Studies
Future goals of AIOU
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
On the university's 25th anniversary, Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp for it on 20 November 1999.
References
External links
1974 establishments in Pakistan
Distance education institutions based in Pakistan
Allama Iqbal Open University
Universities and colleges established in 1974
Islamabad Capital Territory
Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal